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JAKOVITS, József Sculptor, Painter, Graphical Artist (Budapest 1st November, 1909 – Budapest 23rd September, 1994) Autodidactic. Between 1935-1944 he worked at the MÁVAG. In 1945 he married the painter Júlia Vajda. He was a member of the Európai Iskola (European School). In the year of 1948 he was forced to leave his workshop and was unable to work at all for two entire years. Between 1950 and 1955 he was a co-worker of the Governmental Puppet Theatre, then from 1955 to 1958 he worked for the Kisfaludy Theatre of the city of Győr. He began preparing sculptors and small sized relief works in the small premises granted to him by the theatre. Between 1965 and 1987 he lived in the United States of America, where he began painting. In 1985 he gained American citizenship, and moved home in the year of 1987. In 1990 he was awarded the Outstanding Artist Award, and became a member of the Széchenyi Művészeti Académia (Academy of Arts) in the year of 1993. His first works were portraits and genre figures (e.g.: Vakoló /Plasterer/, (1945), Zsákolók /Sacker/, (1945)) These while shortly followed by his abstract sculptors, in which through the breaking of natural forms and a gradual abstraction, he loosened the closed mass of his works, thus opening the their form in every direction of the special surroundings. (e.g.: Akt /Nude/, 1946; Áttört Akt /Nude, broken through/, 1946; Bagoly /Owl/, 1948). Simultaneously to these works he prepared completely abstract works from wire (e.g.: Hurkolás /Looping/, 1946; Szálló Madarak /Flying Birds/, 1947), as well as sculptors portraying material life, growth, raising the ideal of opening-up, related closely in their mentality to the works of Hans Arp (Növekedő /Growing/, Madár /Bird/, Flower, 1947). The first period of his artistic career (ranging between 1945 and 1948), which was closely related to the European School, was enormously productive (almost one third of his sculptors were prepared during this period), and multi-sided. Playfulness and lightness are both present in his works (Hármas fókák /Threefold Seals/, 1946, Delfinek /Dolphins/, 1947), tragic sadness (Gyermekgyilkosság /Child Murder/, 1947), as well as a rough grotesqueness (Hitler, 1946). Asymmetry is typical of his sculptures, as well as the multisided playfulness of forms within their special surroundings, furthermore the ambivalence, which the unique symbiosis the used elements produce. Motifs such as human, animal, plant, and symbol are fussed into one another, in order to form a form not similar to anything or a truly self-governed being (Ikrek Születése /Birth of Twins/, 1946; Kakasharcos /Rooster Fighter/, 1947). This tendency reached its height in his period spanning between 1951 and 1965, and became the basic character of his art. His new period was introduced by small wooden relief works (e.g.: Hajóút /Ship Trip/, 1951, Születik a Minotaurosz /The Minotaurosz is born/, 1952), later he prepares one of his major works the Triptichon (1958-1960) and his large-scale wooden sculptors (Test és Lélek /Body and Spirit/, 1957-1960, Életfa /Life-Tree/, 1958-1960). He developed during the course of the period his typical form motifs, for instance that of masks, horns, claws, wings made of fish tails, and so on, which he makes use of and varies with a great level of fantasy in his mixed beings (e.g.: Angyal /Angel/, bronze, 1958-1960; Holdlovas /Moon Horseman/, 1959). According to his own recognition a number of painters had major influences upon his works such as Lajos Vajda, Ernst Max, Miro, and Picasso, however he drew the greatest inspiration primarily from the art of ancient cultures, and tribes. The provocative eroticism of his works is related to that of Fetishism (e.g.: A herezacskó Emlékműve /Memorial of the scrotum/, 1959). His characteristic creatures, of dual sexes: Tetovált androgin (Tattooed Androgyny), 1957, Mózes /Jégmezők Lovagja/ (Moses /Knight of the Ice Fields/), 1958. He considered the classical works of European Culture as eternal challenges. He prepared paraphrases of such works as Belvederei’s Apollo (Bábos /Pupeteer/, 1953-1954), Leonardo’s Equestrian Statue (Leonardo után (After Leonardo), 1948), H Moore (Király, Királynő /King, Queen/, 1962), and influenced by J. van Eyck his Arnolfini asszony /Woman of Arnolfin/, of 1955. Between 1962 and 1963 he prepared four non-figurative works from plexi-glass (all of which were destroyed), which he intended as plans for large-scale sculptures to be placed into architectural surroundings. He later however did not continue these experiments. His emigration in 1965 however brought forth a new change in his art. Partially due to the fact that he was forced to change genres, due to financial problems, but he also became acquainted with the Kabala, and the “marvel” of the Hebrew letters completely transformed his artistic perception. A unique form of linguistic mysticism evolved in his works, the basic foundation of which was process of creation through the word, i.e. language itself. His forms became hard, closed, and emblematic, their characteristics being decorativeness, and symmetry (e.g.: Teremtés /Creation/, 1988, Kabbala /Kabala/, 1989, Legyen Világosság /Let there be light/, 1989, etc.) He also placed these forms into statues (e.g.: Adam Cadmon, 1967-68). He was unable to bring home the paintings he made in the United States of America, thus we are only able to assume a partial picture of his painting career. His career was filled throughout with drawings, of which his work Forradalmi sorozat I-X. /Revolutionary series I – X/ is an outstanding piece. He furthermore prepared photo-montages (Montázsok kék alapon I-X. /Montages on blue background I-X/), as well as lino-cuts and sifter-prints. Of these later the Corvina Publishing House published six pieces in 70 numbered editions in the year of 1988. (traslation by: Vladimir Végh)