Lakner László: Identity I. (Rope), 1969, oil on canvas, 120 × 50 cm; rope: 159 × 54 cm

The work of László Lakner entitled Identity I. (Rope) was shown first at the second Iparterv exhibition, which is known as one of the most important manifestations of the Hungarian neoavantgarde. The work consists of two parts: one of the panels is formed by a piece of rope vertically stretched to a frame; the second panel is a painted depiction of a similarly sized and positioned piece of rope. The painted panel is framed as well, but a little shorter in length. The painted rope is depicted realistically and in detail. Its colour is a little darker than the object, and it is a little curvier. The painted part is a little bit splattered at some places, and this, together with the slight curvature, creates a sense of a slam, a hit. The painted rope rolls to the left, the real rope rolls to the right.

The diptych composition can be interpreted as a depiction of the relationships between original and copy, representation and model, object and print, reality and imitation with sensual means. The rough presence of the hemp-rope and the detailed, almost photorealist, but still dynamic diction of the painted rope creates tension, as does the similar, but slightly different positioning of the two. The rope as a symbol and as an object can activate the cultural memory of the viewer (it can refer to sailing or to hanging), but at the same time, it reflects on the conceptual question of vision-based imaging, the identity of art with traditional painterly means. This “one fire drives out another’s burning” momentum alone makes this conceptual work peculiar.