Join the English-language presentation and guided tour led by Éva Mathey and Péter Csató (North American Department, University of Debrecen) at the Szipál 101 – Light – Life – Legacy exhibition in MODEM Center for Modern and Contemporary Art at 2:00 pm on the 26th of September!
Éva Mathey and Péter Csató have designed the tour around the theme:
Artisan or Artist? Beauty, Skill, and the Aura of the Image in Martin Szipál’s Portraiture.
About the exhibition:
Márton Szipál – MARTIN was born 101 years ago into an old dynasty of photographers. His career led him all the way to Los Angeles, where he opened a studio called Martin Studio on Sunset Boulevard. He became a social fixture, drawing the who’s who of public life to his studio. As a well-known and sought-after photographer, he earned the nickname Martin, the king.
But it all began in Debrecen, where he spent his childhood and opened his first business in 1946. His father, Márton Károly Szipál, was an imperial and royal court photographer and rented the first floor of the building at 44 Piac Street as both their home and studio. Thus, despite the young boy’s wishes, he learned everything he could. When he was ten years old, his father taught him facial anatomy and body proportions and explained film lighting systems as they watched movies together.
“My father talked a lot about photography and taught me, no one in Hungary knew as much as he did at the time. After the turn of the century, an art academy opened in Munich, and he graduated from it. Photography came from painting, and they taught painting there too, which he tried to pass on to me, like a good father.” He succeeded in doing so. “Thank God, what you hate as a child, you never forget,” he said in an interview.
He moved to Budapest in 1953 and worked at the Photographic Cooperate. He soon received the title of FIAP (Artiste FIAP) from the Fédération Internationale de l’art Photographique, which meant that he had fulfilled the necessary conditions: his photographs had been shown in national and international exhibitions, he had been successful in competitions, and he had five years of successful, high-quality professional activity to his credit.
In the autumn of 1956, he won first prize at the Fotohaus competition in Munich and third prize at the Exposicao Internacional de Arte Fotografica in Rio de Janeiro with his photograph Last Good-bye.
In 1956, he emigrated to the United States, where he became a star photographer of stars. In recognition of his work, he was elected a member of the Professional Photographers of America in 1959, and four of his photographs were accepted.
His studio, The Martin Studio at 8525 Sunset Boulevard welcomed celebrities such as John Wayne, Tommy Lee Jones, Leslie Nielsen, Tracy Nelson, Charlene Tilton, Olivia Hussey, Timothy Hutton, and Priscilla Presley. He also photographed the model Margaux Hemingway, as well as Henry Miller and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. It was his knowledge and incredible intuition that allowed him to become a phenomenon and transform those who sat in front of his camera. The photographs he took and the legendary stories that go with them form an essential part of his oeuvre.
Curators:
- Lajti Virág (Szipál Márton Archive)
- Csizek Gabriella (Capa Center)
Tickets are available online:
With their participation, visitors accept that audio and video recordings will be made during given events, which could be used for promotional purposes on MODEM’s social platforms.
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