Birthday messages and memories on the occasion of the 70th birthday of Júlia Klaniczay, co-founder of Artpool

Gábor Danyi

I remember when I was young and a bit shy but an enthusiastic researcher into  samizdat activities during the Kádár regime, and I visited Artpool for the first time, when it was still operating in Liszt Ferenc Square.

I felt like hiding away in one of the dark corners of the archive clutching the documents I was interested in, but Juli Klaniczay was very curious about me. I had to tell her what I was interested in, and what I wanted to research. In a word, she “questioned me inside-out”. She was kind and suggested other art projects, which, as it turned out, were quite relevant for my research. However, at one point in our conversation she expressed a suspicion. She asked if I was by any chance related to another individual with the same surname.

Quite surprised by this, I said no.
Good then, she responded.

I think many of Juli’s important characteristics were pretty obvious on this first meeting. A couple of these being her openness and helpfulness with people, whether they were young researchers who were complete strangers to her. In contrast to this was her tendency to be cautious and mistrustful, which, if I am not mistaken, stems from what she experienced during the Kádár regime, when informers were everywhere, and from her struggles to protect Artpool and its spirit. But also manifest in our first meeting was her almost bluntly honest, uncompromisingly critical tendency, that she was unable to hide her opinions.

Looking back, I am grateful that over the years this first meeting grew into a relationship of trust, and that Juli’s opinions and comments, both critical and constructive, have done a great deal to shape my work and, ultimately, me: primarily my approach and use of language, when, as a researcher, I try to explore a period I have barely any firsthand experience of, but in which she once lived.

May God bless you many times, Juli.
I’m counting on your friendship, and all your qualities,
for a very long time to come.

Gábor Danyi
(2024)