[context 1974]
January 1974 - Galántai receives several letters from friends and colleagues - among them are Grácia Kerényi and Elemér Hankiss - who express their disapproval of the article published in Népszabadság. Some even help him with money: Éva Körner and Kovács István Studio send him an amount of HUF 200 each.
3 January 1974 - The legal department of the Artists’ Fund inform Galántai that their fine arts department will discuss his activity and the issues raised in Népszabadság on their next meeting. Until the decision is made, the Artists’ Fund cannot support his request.
7 January 1974 - László Szabó informs György Aczél (head of cultural policy within the top Party leadership) in a memorandum about György Pór’s appeal for correction. Since the editorial board are determined to refuse his request, Pór is expected to take legal action against the paper. Szabó reckons that “if a libel case is started, most persons concerned and many of those who show solidarity with them are likely to show up in the court room.”
9 January 1974 - In answer to the article “Happening in the Crypt” by László Szabó, Galántai puts together a collection of documents of the events of the past four years on 33 pages. He mails the account to the Artists’ Fund of the Hungarian People’s Republic, the Ministry of Culture, and the Association of the Hungarian Artists, and hands it over to the fine arts referent to the Central Committee of the Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party Loránd Bereczky (see 22 December 1973).
9 January 1974 - The agent named “Miklós Kárpáti” working for the III/III department of the central police station of Komárom county reports on György Galántai.
11 January 1974 - The head of the department of culture to Somogy county council answers the letter of the major department of culture of the Ministry of Culture concerning László Szabó’s article in Népszabadság (19 December 1973). He writes that, as a means of a counter-propaganda against the Chapel Exhibitions, it was the county council which had proposed that an article by Barna Horányi be published in 1971, and they had provided László Szabó with the documents on which he based his article.
11 January 1974 - Agent “Lámpás” is given the task by the Ministry of the Interior with gathering information on Galántai’s current activity and relationships, and finding out if he has Xerox-machines in his home. The agent is to discover by whom and where the invitation cards and propaganda material for the Chapel Exhibitions were printed.
15 January 1974 - Confidential report on the artists’ opinion of the closing of the chapel and the events that took place at Balatonboglár on 19 August 1973.
17 January 1974 - In a four-page memorandum addressed to the county party secretary, the Somogy county public prosecutor sets forth his statements about the article published in Népszabadság. On analyzing Galántai’s “art” work and his other activities at Balatonboglár he states that the inquiry has not found out anything that “could give rise to a well-grounded suspicion of a crime.” He takes into consideration those legal measures that could have proved to be a proper solution to the problem, as well as those offences on grounds of which legal proceedings could have been commenced.
18 January 1974 - The subdivision III/III-4-a of the Ministry of the Interior ask agent “Pesti” about György Pór and the persons present in the chapel at Balatonboglár on 7 July 1973.
24 January 1974 - The subdivision III/III-4-a of the Ministry of the Interior
order the surveillance of Galántai and have a study of surroundings made. They also take action to find out by whom and where the program of the Chapel Exhibitions was printed.
29 January 1974 - On behalf of the subdivision III/III-4-a of the Ministry of the Interior, “Zoltán Pécsi” reports that Galántai is putting together a collection of documents of the events that took place in the chapel (see 9 January 1974) and that he intends to mail them to higher authorities.
3 February 1974 - Agent “Zoltán Pécsi” pays a “friendly” visit to Galántai’s Budapest home. In his report to the Ministry of the Interior, he gives a detailed account of Galántai’s collection of documents. He is assigned with the further observation of Galántai and the group named “Anglers.”
4 February 1974 - The subdivision III/III-4-a of the Ministry of the Interior call a special meeting to hear “Pesti’s” account again of the events of 7 July 1973, the films shown there, and of György Pór (see 18 January).
5 February 1974 - At his request, the secretariat of the Ministry of the Interior forwards information about György Pór to László Szabó.
6 February 1974 - The Court of Budapest hear the case of György Pór which he has entered for libel and discredit against Népszabadság. His appeal for correction is turned down in both the first and second instance.
The Ministry of the Interior are informed of the discussions that took place during the recess by their secret agent.
6 February 1974 - The Ministry of the Interior report that Tibor Gáyor has been given warning for having made an attempt to disrupt the forced eviction of the chapel of 27 August 1973.
16-17 February 1974 - Guided by an idea that came up at Balatonboglár, agent “Zoltán Pécsi” organizes a hiking excursion (an approximation exercise). His account for the Ministry of the Interior is dated from 18 February while his report from 28 March.
7 March 1974 - On the invitation of the KPVDSZ Youth Club of Tatabánya, Galántai gives a lecture on the events of Balatonboglár accompanied by a slide show. A confidential report is made of the event.
13 March 1974 - Agent “Tibor Mészáros” reports on Szilárd Nyakas and György Pór. Nyakas talks about the pretext for his dismissal from the radio for taking part in the closing of the chapel. He mentions György Pór’s libel case against László Szabó (see 6 February 1973) the result of which Pór, too, has been dismissed.
20 March 1974 - On his inquiry, the president of the Tata council informs Galántai that “the Advisory Office for Fine Arts have already arranged for decorating the bus station of Tata with art works.” Thus they do not need the work that they commissioned him to make (see 22 December 1973).
6 May 1974 - Intending to restore the chapel, the council of Balatonboglár ask the pastor to get Galántai to carry off, hurriedly, his belongings from the chapel.
22 July 1974 - The deputy president of the Somogy county council is glad to let the Central Committee of the Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party know that the restoration of the chapel “by the state” has been done. On the day of the opening they will be informing the correspondents of “the daily and weekly papers, the radio and television of the plan for the art development of the churchyard.”
26 July 1974 - The chapel is now being administered by the local council of Balatonboglár and is restored to a “blue chapel”. The state “Chapel Exhibitions” open their doors in the organization of the Association of the Hungarian Artists and the Somogy county council. Encouraged by the success of the exhibition “Modern Hungarian Works,” the organizers decide to create “the conditions for the overall display of contemporary Hungarian fine art.”
[context 1975]
3 February 1975 - On behalf of the subdivision III/III-4-a of the Ministry of the Interior agent “Zoltán Pécsi” reports on György Galántai and Péter Halász’s group. The tapping of Péter Halász’s telephone is prolonged on permission of the Deputy Minister of the Interior until 30 June 1975.
6 October 1975 - On behalf of the subdivision II/I-1A of the secret police of Budapest, agent “Péter Dongó” reports on György Galántai that some of his “works” are definitely fascist.
[context 1976]
30 June 1976 - The subdivision III/III-4-b of the Ministry of the Interior make an all-encompassing report on the closing of the file on the “Anglers”.
9 August 1976 - The data sheet of the subdivision III/III-4-b of the Ministry of the Interior qualifies Galántai as a participant of a group which by rallying the youth threatens society. It declares the termination of the confidential inquiry.
16 December 1976 - The subdivision III/III-4-b of the Ministry of the Interior report on the supplementary check-up of the group “Anglers” and Galántai’s deletion from the records (see 16 December 1973!).
[context 1979]
25 March 1979 - Resuming his art activity at Balatonboglár, György Galántai and Júlia Klaniczay establish “Artpool”, an art institute located in their home in Budapest. This undertaking calls the authorities’ attention to him again. (Opening of the file named “Painter”)
3 October 1979 - Galántai is invited to give a lecture accompanied by a slide show on the “Chapel Exhibitions 1970-73” in the scope of the program “Szürenon 1969-79”at Kassák Klub, Budapest but his lecture is banned by the police. The event has been reported by the agent of the Fine Arts Board (later called Budapest Galéria) with reference to the article published by Népszabadság in 1973.
8 October 1979 - At the fine art circle of Dunaújváros (leader: István Birkás), Galántai’s lecture and slide show on the Chapel Exhibitions is concurrently banned by the police of Székesfehérvár on grounds of the Budapest report (4 October). Even the president of the local council is dismissed with the charge of “conspiracy” through a misunderstanding. As a result, one of Galántai’s public-place statues is removed (it is set up again in 1982 at another location) and he is forbidden to take part in the ironwork symposium for a couple of years.
2-16 February 1990 - The first public display of the Chapel Exhibitions at the exhibition “Underground Art in Aczél-Era” at Kossuth Klub, Budapest. (Note that Aczél, the name of the head of cultural policy, means steel.)
20 March 1992 - Supported by the Budapest Municipal Council, spiritual heir to the Chapel Exhibitions, Artpool Art Research Center opens its doors officially.
(English translation by Ágnes Ivacs)