The Hungarian Cultural Center in Istanbul opened its new exhibition, “Music of Light,” which is set to appeal to audiovisual senses starting on Feb. 12. The exhibition brings together an important selection of contemporary Hungarian artists who gave meaning to the concept of “music of light” in the 20th century, used it in their works and contributed to this style.

In parallel with the changing conditions of the present day as a result of the pandemic, the center has decided to open an online exhibition space recently. “Music of Light” will be the first event of this exhibition space, that is, it can be visited online by art enthusiasts. Following this very first show, the next exhibitions of the center can also be visited online from now on. “Music of Light” will also welcome visitors to the center’s physical space, under COVID-19 measures.

Based on the works of light art, or luminism, the Hungarian Cultural Center’s latest exhibition is pursuing the concept of "music of light" under the curation of Endre Lehel Paksi. The center prepared a show featuring manually and digitally prepared Hungarian synesthesia works from the beginning of the 20th century to the present day. It describes the background and philosophy of these universal artistic efforts in an entertaining way. The works of the artists included in the exhibition seek out to match what we see and hear and give possibilities and meanings to the new technologies invented in the 20th century.

When hybrid technologies such as cinema and animation, followed by abstract film, were invented, at that time, most Bauhaus thinkers considered light music as a complementary art branch of the era. Thus, the concept of light music has inspired many artists and art thinkers since then, giving rise to a variety of artworks and approaches such as cybernetic management, video synthesizer and digital image development revolution that provided incredible opportunities. For example, after the Russian Alexander Scriabin and the Dane Thomas Wilfred, who began exploring the concept of light music in the 20th century, Hungarian-born Alexander Laszlo is considered the first popular “light musician.” Laszlo, who wrote his first songs in the 1920s, set up a projection system that accompanied the musical works he composed.

In "Music of Light," the Hungarian Cultural Center invites art lovers to explore the audiovisual works of Hungarian masters such as György Kepes, Miklos Schöffer and Lajos Dargay, who took the most important steps in this journey to contemporary art and played an important role in the history of world art.

The center presented “Hungarian Designs in Turkey, the Unrealized Projects of Hungarian Architects from the Late Ottoman to Early Republican Turkey” exhibition, featuring the unrealized projects of Hungarian architects in Turkey, before "Music of Light." The latest exhibition can be visited until March 26.