Death, anger, the grotesque, and humor: Tamás Drabik talks sculpting, human nature and getting past our demons
What drew you to sculpting and working with metal, in particular?
In high school, I was studying to be a graphic designer. I was always attracted to drawing but less so to graphic methods because most of them are time-consuming. I had the opportunity to try sculpture, which I liked and the teachers supported me. In the end, I chose it because I didn't want to go into graphic techniques; however, I still always had time to draw alongside sculpture. I also think the two are inseparable, although I do know sculptors who don’t draw and yet are good at what they do.
In high school, I was studying to be a graphic designer. I was always attracted to drawing but less so to graphic methods because most of them are time-consuming. I had the opportunity to try sculpture, which I liked and the teachers supported me. In the end, I chose it because I didn't want to go into graphic techniques; however, I still always had time to draw alongside sculpture. I also think the two are inseparable, although I do know sculptors who don’t draw and yet are good at what they do.
At university, I preferred steel sculpture because, like stone and wood, it does not require any transfer of material, the sculpture is made immediately from that very material. Unlike carving (with wood), however, with metal, compositions are built up via a process of abstraction and addition, which makes it a very free technique. I was a student of master Kő Pál (an award-winning Hungarian sculptor who passed away in 2020) at university, and I owe a lot to him for supporting me on my way and letting me work freely.
I do not know the themes of your earlier works, but your most recent exhibit focused on death. Where did this come from? Is it about man's general fear of facing death or something more personal?
The exhibition "Hol síron nő virág" ("Where on graves, flowers grow") is not only about death but also about life after death and the path to it. It shows love, anger, the difficulty of human relationships where we always lose someone.
I do not know the themes of your earlier works, but your most recent exhibit focused on death. Where did this come from? Is it about man's general fear of facing death or something more personal?
The exhibition "Hol síron nő virág" ("Where on graves, flowers grow") is not only about death but also about life after death and the path to it. It shows love, anger, the difficulty of human relationships where we always lose someone.
With these sculptures, I always want to portray a single emotion, whether extreme or grotesque.
To fill these objects with an overflowing expression of emotion is what excites me,
this is expressionism for me.
To fill these objects with an overflowing expression of emotion is what excites me,
this is expressionism for me.
These pieces tell me about my experiences. Hatred, anger, hurting others and myself — all of this is as much a part of me as saying goodbye to someone, feeling compassion, hugging or loving. These are natural reactions, sometimes muddled instinctual acts.
For me, facing myself and being myself is important and inescapable.
The Unicum piece made me laugh when you posted it online and again when I saw it at the exhibit. For me, it seemed to be making a statement about Hungary's obsession with Unicum and liquor in general. And, of course, there was the feeling that the person in your piece was drinking himself to death...
Unicum is the Hungarian artists' absinthe alongside pálinka. It has a bitter taste. Many people consider it a medicine, but if you drink too much of it, the high sugar content leads to a terrible hangover. The head in this piece is really grotesque, funny or maybe a little pathetic with tears under his eyes as he pours the drink down his throat. He is like many drunken hopeless fools, his one-sided thinking leads him to disregard his mistakes, and he fails the next day to abstain from drinking. The Hungarian cries as the comfort of alcohol drips down his throat!
Some of the other pieces betrayed a sense of anger and fury, it was very visceral. Did you intend to evoke such a feeling, or was this just my takeaway?
Unicum is the Hungarian artists' absinthe alongside pálinka. It has a bitter taste. Many people consider it a medicine, but if you drink too much of it, the high sugar content leads to a terrible hangover. The head in this piece is really grotesque, funny or maybe a little pathetic with tears under his eyes as he pours the drink down his throat. He is like many drunken hopeless fools, his one-sided thinking leads him to disregard his mistakes, and he fails the next day to abstain from drinking. The Hungarian cries as the comfort of alcohol drips down his throat!
Some of the other pieces betrayed a sense of anger and fury, it was very visceral. Did you intend to evoke such a feeling, or was this just my takeaway?
I feel the anger and violence in some of my things. These are common themes that I think don't always go over well — not everything can be achieved nicely. People tend to often avoid these acts of violence; they are in fact very difficult to face. But anger is a part of life, and it can be bottled up or somehow vented. It's better to refrain from anger because it can be destructive.
These drawings (and other works) I hope will also act as a deterrent, a form of catharsis, like the gargoyles in medieval churches. It is better to live them through art, to get past a bad feeling and throw it away, or put it on the wall and examine why we felt that way.
In my older work, I have also explored the themes of dreams, death, miraculous transformations, the grotesque and humor. Families can suffer many tragedies, and humor helps us deal with these things. We have a rather grotesque sense of humor in our family, which I think is a good thing.
These drawings (and other works) I hope will also act as a deterrent, a form of catharsis, like the gargoyles in medieval churches. It is better to live them through art, to get past a bad feeling and throw it away, or put it on the wall and examine why we felt that way.
In my older work, I have also explored the themes of dreams, death, miraculous transformations, the grotesque and humor. Families can suffer many tragedies, and humor helps us deal with these things. We have a rather grotesque sense of humor in our family, which I think is a good thing.
Unfortunately, you can't always laugh at death, but it's better to face the world with an indulgent sense of humor.
Sometimes we cry, sometimes it hurts a lot, sometimes it's hard to forgive, but most of the time we laugh and those who cry a lot have beautiful drawings on their faces. As to passing away, this is a constant part of life; it is inevitable, and this fact is worth facing sometimes.
Was there any theme to your previous works, for example, Silent Dream and Two Heads?
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Two Heads refers to a bad-tempered outgrowth of a doubled little head living a separate life, like a mushroom on a stump. Or you can think of it like Zeus's great headache, the beginning of Pallas Athena's life. Silent Dream (Csendes Álom) is about the relationship between death and sleep, the face evoking death masks is smiling, content. But his closed eyes are no longer looking at us, but elsewhere. |
What's next? I know you also work with wood, but I assume you will continue your work with steel. Any ideas about what you may attempt next?
So at university, I worked mostly with metal, but I also carved stone and wood. I have very few carved sculptures left from those days, maybe one or two wooden pieces. For the last five years, I have been working mostly with metal, but I have become exhausted now from all the welding and grinding. I needed a change, so I went back to wood for the first time. This turned out to be a good decision because in a way it opened up a new world of forms that I had been looking for for a long time. I really feel like a sculptor when I am carving, there is something primal and genuinely exciting about it, as it is more limited than welding. I would like to continue to work with wood in the future and would like to include stone as well as ceramics. At the end of the day, as an artist, I don't want to narrow my focus to one technique. |
DRABIK TAMÁS Zalaegerszeg 1991 11. 07. TANULMÁNYOK 2012-2018 │ Magyar Képzőművészeti Egyetem │ szobrászművész szakirány MESTEREK │ Kő Pál, Gálhidy Péter, Sallai Géza VÁLOGATOTT CSOPORTOS KIÁLLÍTÁSOK: 2021 │ T-Art Alapítvány │ Óbuda 2021 │ Welcome Visions │ SKURC Group, Népsziget, Budapest 2021 │ PART │ Szolnoki művésztelep, Szolnok 2020 │ T-Art Alapítvány │ Józsefvárosi Galéria, Budapest 2020 │ 67. Vásárhelyi Őszi tárlat │ Hódmezővásárhely 2019 │ 66. Vásárhelyi Őszi Tárlat │ Hódmezővásárhely 2019 │ New Rules │ MKE Központi épület, Budapest 2018 │ Clear Fracture │ Udvarház Galéria, Veresegyház 2017 │ A-HEAD │ MKE Központi épület, Budapest 2016 │ Folyamatban│ MKE Epreskert, Budapest 2016 │ UP! │ A38, Budapest 2016 │ 63. Vásárhelyi Őszi Tárlat │ Hódmezővásárhely 2015 │ Jaschik 130. │ Deák 17 Galéria, Budapest 2015 │ Kő Pál osztály kiállítása │ Heves 2014 │ 61. Vásárhelyi Őszi Tárlat │ Hódmezővásárhely 2014 │ Kő Pál osztály kiállítása │ Heves 2013 │ Haverok rajzolnak │ Müszi, Budapest ÖNÁLLÓ KIÁLLÍTÁSOK 2017 │ MKE Kálvária, Budapest 2015 │ Pince, Budapest DÍJAK 2021 │ Searching for T-Art 2019 │ 66. Vásárhelyi Őszi Tárlat, Hódagro Mezőgazdasági Zrt. díja |