You're going in the direction of the ferry in Tihany to see GALÉRIAplacc that has brought here more than 10 important art galleries from Budapest, but suddenly you have to stop before you step inside the giant white tent. There's a well-known car displayed a bit to the left of the entrance, and it looks like a special prize from some kind of TV-show. A hostess girl appears, who looks exactly like the pretty ladies who take care of the puzzle board in Wheel of Fortune, and she starts to talk about the perfect brakes, the car's computer and she's willing to give you a leaflet about this. Is it the exhibition already, is it a performance or they just want to let everyone know where the money comes from?
The glass of rosé in our hand and the exhibition itself make us forget the previous question, because as soon as we pass the blue "I am thirsty" neon sign, we find ourselves in a big white labyrinth of contemporary art.
We fill in
We watch these strange pieces of art at Tihanyi Rév, we blend into the happy crowd and we are beginning to feel as an expert of contemporary art. The sparkling rosé and/or the plum beer from Léhűtő helps a lot with that, but these pictures are not freakishly weird at all. You can see summer homes of Balaton in Bauhaus style, the twin towers of World Trade Center made of Lego, and there is a schoolbag made of stone to sympathize with the kids, who are starting the new schoolyear pretty soon. These paintings won't necessarily be as simple as Michael Bay's Pain & Gain, but all of these creations are unique and innovative.
Lángos and porcini soup
The gastro section is not too strong: stylish art fans can only find lángos, hot sandwiches and hamburgers near the shore, or you can go to the center to eat Ungarische Goulasch, or a Traditional Tourist Menu. The formerly hyped Art&Food section has only one member: at GALÉRIAplacc you get to taste the gourmet cuisine of Villa Medici Hotel & Restaurant. Their famous porcini soup proves that the mix of porcini and foie gras is a pretty good idea. If you're done tasting the soup, you can continue with a slice of chocolate cake made of three different kinds of chocolate to gain some strength before climbing.
Tihany's natural gifts are amazing, and this green environment is perfect for a festival like this, but these facts won't cheer you up when you're climbing uphill for five minutes. We could use the fancy car in front of GALÉRIAplacc, but it is just standing still in deep silence. There are many cyclists on Tihanyi-félsziget, so we decided to ride the bike, too. It turned out these hills are not suitable for casual riders. You can travel between the festival's locations by the small train or the local bus service, but using your own car is the most comfortable way. Stick to your car if you can handle the high traffic near Lake Balaton.
Animated gif on the canvas
This year FOTÓplacc was placed on Pisky sétány which has a magnificent panorama. However, it is very close to Tihany Abbey, which means we have to climb uphill to get here. It is worth it, because everyone who enjoys a world press photo exhibition will appreciate these photos, too. You will never see pictures of protests, handshaking politicians and well-known athletes here, because nonconventional creations and avant-garde ideas rule this exhibition.
It is always good to see the latest photos of the award-winning cinematographer, Tamás Dobos who worked as a photographer on the set of Le Grand Cahier (the latest movie by János Szász, which won Crystal Globe in Karlovy Vary).
We admire the idea of Luca Göbölyös, who invented the analog animated gif. She puts three different pictures on one holographic photo. It means, that depending on the angle, you will always see a different picture. It is a bit like those holographic stickers of Winnie the Pooh trying to catch a ballon that come with a magazine for children. There's only one difference though: these pictures want to paint a picture of the Kádár regime.
You haven't seen Balázs Telek's pictures if you think there is nothing scarier than the look of Harvey Dent and Two-Face. Don't worry; he doesn't literally tear his models' face apart. He just cuts the pictures into pieces horizontally, and then he reassembles them in random order. It’s okay if you can't understand the result right away, because you will most likely see some strange figure like Quasimodo, but the method makes his creations quite unique.
After we spent some time in this giant white tent and its innumerable photos, a friendly downhill leads us to KIKÖTŐplacc right next to the ship station. The evening programs, like concerts, theatre performances, poetry readings all happen here. This is the festival's first venue which has a unique and spectacular outlook with the lighting and the animations projected onto the ceiling of the tent.
Hungarians at a glance
The former Sport restaurant at KIKÖTŐplacc has not been about traditional Hungarian food for a long while now, and this time the Subjective Atlas of Hungary ruled this place. The atlas came out in 2011; it was produced by Kitchen Budapest Project, and in January 2013 it won the prestigious Henry van de Velde design award in Belgium. The boards look a bit like the fresh laundry as they are hanging from the ceiling on ropes. The atlas balances on the hair-thin border between national identity and nationalism successfully, because even though some ideas seem to be clichés, it's still very entertaining to see them.
You can meet the Hungarian superhero and his opponent as well, mixed from many well-known Hungarian historical figures. No doubt, that the superhero, who has the genes of many a Hungarian hero, would be a qualified member of the Justice League.
Another fun fact is about Hungarian nursery rhymes, which may sound brutal for foreign people, because the snail's house is on fire, the cows don't have ears and tails, and the geese freeze to death in the cold. The renowned Hungarian gastronomy is under inspection as well. It turns out that Hungarians love to mix wine with sparkling water (called fröccs) and our natural habit is to eat as many different kinds of breaded food as we can.
