Dear Friends, Ladies and Gentlemen,

A salutation’s first words should be thanks. Thank you for honouring me with your presence at the opening of the 7th International Light Symposium. Thanks to the presenters, because a number of them rearranged their other tasks to create space in their life to be able to present their lectures, thus enriching the programme of the symposium and to present us with an intellectual experience. Thanks to the Hungarian Arts Academy, Imre Makovecz president, Flórián Kováts secretary and their colleagues to provide the opportunity to organise the Light Symposium. Thanks to Board of Trustees of Creative Arts NKA, the Norwegian, the Danish and the Dutch Embassies for supporting our work. Thanks to the members of the International Kepes Company and especially to András Mengyán for their help.
We are opening the symposium after our national celebration: 23rd October, so some thoughts cannot go unsaid.

The light is coming from the East. The Sun rises in the East.
Us here in Central and Eastern Europe do not know from literature, for example from science fiction, that there was an incredible umbrella, which covered the Sun, and there was darkness even in the middle of the day. But let us pass this: what was the name of this umbrella, the important thing was, that below this umbrella we were faced with darkness even during the day. We are still aware of its shadow today. “Darkness midday” that is how our writers called aptly this period.
We were hungry for light. For light, that is the fountain of life. Of renewal.
Of rebirth. Past the era of “Darkness midday”, past the false myths, but also past the cults making a fetish of innovation. Past the avant-garde and post-avant-garde too.

But it is a fact that visual renewal is unstoppable. Those who try it end up like the wife of Loth: they turn into a pillar of salt, they turn into stone. In the arts renewal must not be stopped – because it is unavoidable – turning it into a fetish has to be stopped. The ascension of trends.
And under the debris the simplest the most complicated road has to be found, which leads from soul to soul according to the classical description. Is that out of date? Let me ask back: can we be more independent, is it essential to follow the thinking of the man “stripped of his soul”?

Let us not make decisions about modernity according to the last century’s stereotypes.

György Kepes – whom our association is named after – liked to quote the writing of an old sundial: “My guidance is light, yours is shadow”.
Let us be lead by the light – but not only the outside, but the inside light too. This inner light we are more bereft of, than bread.
We need the light, which bears such behaviour, that is past “the long wild argument of tradition and ingenuity”.
Light that is mundane and sacred at the same time.  Light that fertilises. Fills with life.

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce you to some dry facts, let me list some of the programmes completed during the life of Kepes Society.

But before I do that, I would like to welcome our new member Seth Riskin light artist, from Cambridge and I would like to present him with his membership certificate.

About the life of Kepes Society:
We organised several events.
We had a remembrance meeting and exhibition entitled “Light in science and arts” to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the the birth of Zoltán Bay – the magical master of experimental physics – and Dénes Gábor – the inventor of the holograph – jointly organised with the Electro-technical Museum.

There was an expert meeting of the Company’s light-workshop at Siófok-Töreki artist retreat. This light-workshop was introduced at Ernst Museum one evening.
The company had regular gatherings, the so-called Kepes-evenings in studios, at the Electro-technical Museum, at Ernst Museum, at the Tódor Kármán Wind-tunnel Laboratory of Budapest Technical University and other places.

The Company has organised two study tours to Finland. We made contact with the Finish Dimensio Kinetic and Light Artistic Group.
At universities – for example at Kassa Technical University we organised a highly successful so-called Kepes-day about the connection between art, science and technology.
Besides these we organised numerous exhibitions.
In Eger in Trinitárius Church, at Kepes Museum.
In Brasso Museum.
At the Picture Gallery in Sepsiszentgyörgy, in Transylvania.
The Hungarian Institute in Helsinki introduced the exhibition of three light artists.
The Hungarian institute in Paris introduced the exhibition of seven light artists.

We organised a series of grand exhibitions in Kassa entitled “Come Along to the Future”. Here at the opening of the Kassa exhibition it was said that there is always somebody, who reawakens the dream of Leonardo: art, science and technology never separates totally.
The International Kepes Company is the collection of those people, who are re-dreaming this dream again and again. Among the presenters of the light symposium we find artists and art historians, writers, architects, physicists, mathematicians, cultural engineers and so on from many different countries.

I quote György Kepes, who lived through the 20th century and fought the battles of avant-garde: “it is time for a deeper faithfulness”.
I am saluting the participants of the 7th Light Symposium in the spirit of invention and deeper faithfulness.
Thank you for hearing me out.