You and Károly Kincses were involved in the selection of Robert Capa photographs purchased from the International Center of Photography in New York. What has been the most difficult part of your work?
We had a limited time to go through thousands of photographs, but it was one of the greatest experiences of my life to be so close to so many Capa images at one time. We relied heavily on Károly Kincses's experience as director of the museum in Kecskemét (the Hungarian Photography Museum) and his knowledge of images found in Hungary. I believe the Capa collection that has arrived will definitely help draw more attention to photography and that the collection of the Hungarian Photography Museum in Kecskemét should get the presentation it deserves.
What do you think is the significance of this rare collection? Do you consider it first of all a cultural treasure that has returned home, a valuable photographic collection or a historic document of the age?
Many different approaches are possible. We always talk about Robert Capa as a photographer of Hungarian descent who became world famous. Bringing so many of his photographs to Hungary is definitely a part of the country's national heritage. His activities as a photojournalist covered five wars and the short periods of peace of in between. These images are important documents to understand history. Many of his reports and photos of wars and other events are emblematic pieces of Hungarian and universal photographic history and art.
What is your opinion of Capa as an artist and as a man?
I think he was a fantastic man. I recently read of a coming film adaptation of his life which I think is a good undertaking considering his eventful and colourful life. His was an "American" success story and, at the same time, a tragically short life, which can serve as a good basis for a movie script. Somebody escapes from a small and poor country at a very young age and becomes world famous because of his own ambition and talent. He had the chance to take photographs at many locations around the world and sent the photos to some of the biggest newspapers; he became friends and had romantic affairs with some of the greatest stars. He got into a world where he wanted to belong. Throughout his successful career as a photojournalist, he made friends with writers, such as Steinbeck and Hemingway. At a very young age, he had a career that serves as an example to photojournalists even today. He became a star. A real star whose image was not built up by others, as happens today. Robert Capa's cult status, in the good sense of the word, lasts even today. and he may become even more well-known in Hungary as a result of the collection that has now returned home.
Who do you think will be most interested in the exhibition that opened at the National Museum on March 6 and that will move to the Ludwig Museum at the beginning of July?
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It will be interesting for everybody. I have seen these images very many times over the past year or two and I still discover new things in them. Even in the case of the emblematic images, such as the Death of the Militiaman or photos about the landings at Normandy, I think that seeing them again and again will not prevent you from enjoying them visually again and again. You can always imagine how the photo could be realised, what was actually happening at that moment. To me every photo is a novel or the starting point of a novel, from where you can progress further. I recommend the exhibition to everyone, even to those who have already seen Capa's images and definitely to those who have not seen them. The photos will be looked at differently by those who have participated in wars and by those generations who only saw the horrors of wars on television. But we must sense that every recorded moment is actually a death. These truth-laden dramatic moments show that people were there, living, fighting and loving, and once the moment passed, these human lives became irrevocably part of the past. They are images of cruel truth, warnings about time, the horrors of war, our responsibilities and what we all are.
Author: Éva Kelemen
Photo: Eszter Gordon
