About me
I was born on June 9, 1954. I graduated from Táncsics Mihály High School in 1972. I became a cabinetmaker and later a stonemason. In 1980, I graduated with a degree in sculpture from the Hungarian University of Fine Arts, where my master was Iván Szabó. Between 1980 and 1982, I continued my studies in the artist training program at the same institution, under the guidance of József Somogyi.
Between 1970 and 1989, the Moldavian Csángó Hungarians, who were geographically distant from both Hungary and Transylvanian Hungarians and isolated by Romanian assimilation policies, were almost impossible to reach. I first encountered them in 1977. Since then, I have been traveling to Moldavia to photograph and collect ethnographic materials. I have taken tens of thousands of photographs, often in complete secrecy – and after 1990, more freely. I also filmed and recorded on tape the fading remnants of medieval Hungarian language, traditions, and customs. Over the years, I befriended midwives. My regular presence and genuine interest helped to dissipate the atmosphere of fear. In many villages, the Hungarian language has since disappeared; Gutinázs, Jugán, Ploszkucény, and Bargován have all submerged, but the words they preserved evoke the spirits of their former inhabitants.
From 1979 until his death, I was a student of Dr. Pál Péter Domokos. In 1999, I created a bronze relief for the wall of his residence, and later, when the Sopron Street Elementary School was named after Domokos Pál Péter, I made a relief for that institution as well.
In addition to this, several of my public works have been realized: Karácsony Sándor’s tombstone carved from Swedish granite (1985, Budapest), a relief of Petrás Ince János at the Faculty of Theology in Eger (2003). In 2010, I created the Trianon Memorial in Csákvár, followed by the 1956 Memorial in 2011. In 2012, I made a bust of Sándor Petőfi for Halásztelek. I have created six memorials in Moldavian Csángó villages to provide community remembrance sites (Pusztina, Saint Stephen statue, 2004; Magyarfalu, Saint Stephen cross, 2006). In 2008, I sculpted a bust of Prince Álmos for the headquarters of the Szeret-Klézse Foundation. In 2013, I erected a statue of Petrás Incze János, a folk song collector and martyr priest, in the courtyard of the church in Klézse, with the approval of the Iași diocese. In 2014, I made a portrait bust of János Gyergyina, the last Hungarian priest of Lészped, which stands in front of the library in Forrófalva. Finally, in 2018, I completed the portrait bust of Petrus Neumann, which is located in Bogdánfalva.
In Magyarfalu, during the 2002/2003 school year, I restarted Hungarian language teaching, which had been suspended for fifty years. I later wrote a book about my work at that time. Between 2011 and 2015, I organized on-site summer camps for the children of Szitás, Bahána, Újfalu, and Forrófalva. I taught them folk songs, circle games, prayers, and reenacted with them the legends of Saint László and the Battle of Pozsony, which we presented to interested parents and relatives at the end of the camp. One of my important goals is to elevate the exiled Hungarian language to a communal level. My pedagogical aim is experiential, playful teaching.
Six of my photo albums have been published (one in Japan) on the Moldavian Csángós. I have written a documentary novel, as well as short stories and novellas about this world (2012, Moldvai kerékpár; 2013, Moldvai repülés). In 2016, a publication summarizing my Moldavian collection work was published, titled A megkötött idő (The Bound Time), based on the transcription of about 85 cassette tapes. The volume contains the material from my forty years of ethnographic research in Moldavia: incantations, archaic prayers, spells, healing practices, folk tales, and origin stories across 660 pages. The special value of the book lies in the folklore material I was the last to collect from twenty-five villages around Bacău and Aknavásár, along with the most archaic five northern Csángó settlements.
I also have ninety hours of unprocessed HI-8 mm video footage, which, due to financial and technical reasons, has not yet been completed. This is one of my future tasks.
Awards and honors
-
In 1989, I received a Ministry Award for my book on the Moldavian Csángó Hungarians.
-
In 2012, I was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary for my work.
-
In 2019, I received the Petrás Incze János Award.
-
In 2024, I received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Hungarian Academy of Arts (2024)
