The Avant-Garde Magazines of Lajos Kassák from an Interdisciplinary Perspective (1915–1928)

OTKA K-120779

1 October 2016 – 30 September 2022
 

Objectives of the research project

The goal of our project it to research historical documents connected to Lajos Kassák’s avant-garde periodicals – A Tett (The Action), MA (Today), 2x2, 365, Dokumentum (Document) – make them public, and interpret them using current approaches of literary history, art history and historical science within the given historical context. In the first phase of research we will work on documents related to Kassák and the magazines, as well as to the Hungarian and international artists and artist groups within his circle. In this regard, we will approach accounts of the networks, publics and debates that were structured through Kassák’s magazines primarily through periodical studies, as well as the history of intellectuals (histoire des intellectuels) and the method of cultural transfers. The results of the research will include a Hungarian and English language monograph dealing with the histories, network of connections and publics of the avant-garde periodicals edited by Kassák, as well as the research of publications, letters and documents that are closely or more broadly related to the periodicals in question. The significance of the project can be grasped in the research methods connected to networks and sociability, the endeavour to uncover most of the sources, as well as in critical analysis, in contrast to earlier, aestheticizing, biographical or period-monograph approaches. 

Basic research questions   

Complex investigation of Lajos Kassák’s avant-garde periodicals based on primary research opens the way to new interpretations and holds out the promise of transforming our picture of Kassák’s oeuvre as well as the history of the Hungarian avant-garde. In Hungary, Kassák’s work is present primarily through several canonical examples of his poetry and prose, while abroad he is known mainly as a visual artist, and in recent years increasingly for his editorial activities. The goal of our research is to analyse Kassák’s multi-faceted career in both the local and international context through a systematic investigation of Kassák’s journals from the 1910s and 20s. The first step on the path to reassessing Kassák’s avant-garde period is to work through in their entirety all the connected documents, press coverage of his journals, as well as lost publications. This research period requires an initial, detailed investigation of the sources related to the Kassák journals (1915–1927). Research into contemporary correspondence, commentaries, photos, publications and artworks, by using the new approaches to our theme provided by art historical, literary and historical studies, facilitates our efforts to place the Kassák journals in a new light. Our research promises to ensure the significance of the Kassák journals is recognised in both local and international discourse about the period.

Significance of the research project 

The significance of the research, in contrast to approaches based on biographical, period monograph and aesthetic points of view, lies in the use of new research methods connected to networks and sociability, along with the exploration, and making tangible through critical analysis, of the sources. Presentation of the journals and avant-garde movements connected to the international networks grouped around Lajos Kassák, not only provides a more nuanced view of the established narratives, but at the same time makes it possible to map out the national aspects of a Hungarian avant-garde that was rooted in the international scene. In the case of the Kassák journals, their relation to the groups and movements of the Western and Central-East European movements and the “concept of Central Europe” has great historical importance, while the problems that consequently arise are primarily a question of the relationship between the national and the international. Using today’s methods for researching the historical avant-garde (periodical studies, histoire des intellectuels, cultural transfers), the research of avant-garde movements could be presented in connection with the current global conjuncture in the form of publications, conferences as well as exhibitions. We intent to carry out our interpretative work based on complex, interdisciplinary cooperation and connection to international discourse, as well as relying on research into the original sources. These are made up of the correspondence and other documents from Lajos Kassák and his circle, and would involve research work on a collection of writings extending to several thousand items, as well as looking into various additional sources. Our endeavour is directed towards filling gaps that have been brought to attention in monographs published in recent years. Uncovering and examining the correspondence found in the Kassák Museum’s collection – that deals in no small part with the editing of Kassák’s avant-garde journals – holds out the promise of significantly transforming our knowledge of the local and international embeddedness, as well as intellectual background, of the Hungarian avant-garde.