THE SYSTEM OF THE AVANT-GARDE

Abstract

It is not easy to find the exact words to describe the role Imre Bori had in the rediscovery and canonisation of the Hungarian avant-garde beginning with the 1960s. His books have inspired younger generations, but just as important was the inspiration he gave to his contemporaries in Hungary, Miklós Szabolcsi, Miklós Béládi, or Béla Pomogáts, who also played a key role in researching the avant-garde. These exchanges of views were characterised by lively debates, and some of the issues raised may be an impasse even today. We would be disloyal to the spirit of Imre Bori, if we were to automatically concede that he was always right. Sometimes he was wrong, but the consistent systematic nature of his thinking allowed even these misconceptions to lead to new insights. Looking from a span of decades, thought patterns leading to realisation sometimes prove to be more important and more durable than the realisation itself. In my lecture I wish to give an overview of Professor Bori’s system-building work, insights and hypotheses related to the avant- garde from the perspective of a both grateful and critical posterity.