Ihlet
 Anna Szalai
and Pal Szabo
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"Ihlet"
means an intensified state of mind stimulating to create an artistic product. Synonyms:
-
sugallat -- (noun) awakening an idea or an intent in someone that
provokes action. When combined with the word "divine", it suggests the intuitive
state of mind in which an artist conceives an idea for his-her creation.
-
inspiráció
-- creative stimulus. In scientific interpretation: breathing in.
The question of inspiration
is a universal question regarding all aspects of artistic creation regardless of
the medium used in the process. Whether the tool is painting, music or the
written word, the question is the same: What is it that helps artists achieve
their creative goals? The universal nature of this question might explain why
the word in many languages, Hungarian included, come from the same Latin word,
inspiration.
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The Historical-Etymological
Dictionary of the Hungarian language says that the basis of the Hungarian verb,
"ihel or ihl" is of debated origin. It is definitely an onomatopoeic word;
originally, its spoken form evokes the act of breathing, respiration or
expiration.
To reveal the universal nature of the word of inspiration, I chose to show what
the word means in the paintings of the most or one of the most significant
Hungarian painters of the 20th century, István Nádler.
The first work is Nádler's Niké from 1963. It was inspired by the famous
sculpture, Victory of
Samothrace (Paris, Louvre) featuring
Nike, the goddess of Victory. For the Greeks, Nike was a beautiful young woman
endowed with wings. For Nádler, the Nike motif was
important as a symbol carrying cultural history value; at the same time, the
wide, energetic brush strokes and the vivid contrasts in color dissolve the
figurative nature of the painting.
In the eighties, several of Nádler's paintings found inspiration in musical
works. Music became the "important motif," (Debussy: La Mer (The Sea), 1982 or
Steve Reich: Music for 18 Musicians.) The "important motif" expression comes
from the Impressionists who wandered around in nature trying to find the motifs
that will inspire them for creation.
The most important inspiration in Nádler's creative life came from the Russian
Suprematist painter, Kasimir Malevitch's Yellow Parallelogram on White. This
motif becomes a decisive element in Nádler's artistic life, Nádler internalizes
the Malevich painting and this theme becomes Nádler's own as he rewrites,
re-interprets and recreates the original.
Interview
Questions
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What are the words for inspiration in Hungarian?
As I already wrote about the etymology of the word, its origin is debated,
but it does not have any connection to the Arabic language. The dictionary I
used (which the most detailed I have knowledge of) does not mention which are
the possibilities on this line of debate, but Hungarian language does not have
any relation to the Arabic language.
The suffix "let" makes a noun out of various words. For instance the Hungarian
word "ke'pzel" means imagine, and "ke'pzelet" is imagination; "lel" is to find
something and "lelet" is the finding itself, etc. The funny thing is that there
is no such verb in today's language as "ihel" or "ihl" and yet ihlet is a noun
formed from a verb. Its original meaning is connected (on the level of sounds)
to "lehel" which means breathing air into something or breathing which is the
same meaning the Latin inspire means.
It is usually very easy to form a verb out of a noun or vice versa in the
Hungarian language. However, when you say "ihlik", it sounds like a joke. It is
not an activity, a motion or a process, something a person would do. So it is
said only jokingly. Ihlet, the noun, on the other hand, is a serious word used
left and right in art history articles, poetry, etc.
Footnote
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IHLET
- noun - (the "i" is pronounced the same as the first "i" is pronounced in the
English word "inspiration", the "h" is pronounced as the "h" in "horse", and
"let" is pronounced as the same word in English (ee-h-let)