Paul Hartal

Paul Hartal 2008

Paul Hartal (* 1936 in Szeged , Hungary ) is a Canadian painter and poet .

He coined the term lyrical conceptionism, characterizing his style of painting and poetry. And he wrote a manifesto that describes his theory in more detail.

Life

In 1944, Hartal and his Jewish family were deported from Hungary to the Strasshof transit camp for forced labor , where they were liberated on April 9, 1945. After the war he returned with his family to Hungary, from where he emigrated to Israel in 1957 . In 1973 he moved on to Montreal . In 1964 he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Jerusalem, the Master of Arts in 1977 from Concordia University. To the Ph.D. in Education and Art in 1986 from Columbia Pacific University in San Rafael, California. In 1987 Hartal founded the Center for Art, Science, and Technology in Montréal.

Hartal paints in an expressionist style with additional elements from photography.

“Lyrical conceptionism does not impose any formal restrictions on artistic freedom. He only gives advice. Instead of competitive thinking, he supports cooperation. In our post-industrial society, science and technology determine our lifestyle. Hence, art itself has to deal with science and technology. However, science and technology should not be our masters, but our servants. "

- Paul Hartal (1975)

Paul Hartal published books of poetry, a book underlining his manifesto and a novel. He exhibited in Germany, New York, Montreal and Montreux. His works can be seen in the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the National Gallery in Ottawa and other galleries in Italy, Israel and Korea.

Lyco art: Hartals art theory

Lyco art, or Lyrical Conceptionalism are terms that were coined by Hartal.

In 1975 Hartal published "A Manifesto on Lyrical Conceptualism" in which Lycoism was to be read for the first time as a new art idea on the "periodic table of art". In this work he proposed a theory that was contrary to traditional opinion.

Hartal claims that in the course of history in art the pendulum of the creative process alternated between the opposite Apollonian and Dionysian poles of the rational and emotional levels. In this way he argues that the aesthetic styles of the Greco-Romanesque world and the Renaissance are basically harmonious, both valuing the geometric and conceptual, while both Gothic and Baroque art are characterized by flourishes, passion and lyricism. Likewise, with regard to modern art movements, he theorized that Impressionism , Fauvism , Dadaism and Surrealism can all be derived from irrational impulses of the human psyche, whereas movements such as Cubism , Neoplasticism, Constructivism and abstract geometry are more closely related to the rational realm of creativity .

In “Mazes for the Mind” Clifford Pickover draws attention to Hartal's view that we need the imagination, the knowledge and lateral thinking ability, as well as human values, which are excluded from the rigid methodology of the sciences but essential for art. "The current human condition calls for a new, inclusive form of culture in which art should play a most important role."

Art critic Balint Szombathy notes that lyrical conceptualism includes a fusion of opposites as well as the blending of expressions of lyrical expressionism or lyrical abstraction . He says it is possible to characterize these diametrically opposed juxtapositions, as well as attempts to level the incompatible elements for the sake of synthesis.

However, while introducing the idea of lyco-ism, Hartal had no intention of forging a new post-conceptual splinter trend. Instead, his intention was to create a new philosophy of art in which the tearing down of boundaries between art and science, the intertwining of the intuitive and the exact and the incorporation of lyrical and geometrical play a central role.

Individual evidence

↑ The 461st Liberaider, June 2002 (PDF).

Web links

personal data
SURNAME	Hartal, Paul
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Canadian painter and poet
DATE OF BIRTH	1936
PLACE OF BIRTH	Szeged , Hungary

[1] The 461st Liberaider, June 2002 (PDF).