Wellfleet Preservation Hall
György Kepes (1906–2001) was a Hungarian-American painter, photographer, designer, theorist, educator, and impresario, recognized today as a largely overlooked precursor of media art. He is widely credited with popularizing the concept of "visual culture" at Mid-Century. Kepes’ name became synonymous with the intersection of art, science, and technology, largely due to his visionary program developed in the 1960s at MIT, where he founded the Center for Advanced Visual Studies (CAVS). This institution encouraged collaborative creations between artists and scientists, fostering teamwork between humanists and natural scientists.
Kepes coined the term "interthinking" to describe his innovative approach, which brought together artists and engineers to address pressing public issues like ecological awareness, augmented reality, and adaptive design—concepts that were in their nascent stages at the time. His influence extended far beyond his artistic endeavors. From his early days working alongside Bauhaus protagonists in Europe, to his significant role in the U.S. art world (Chicago, Dallas, New York, and Boston), Kepes was an "enabler," a catalyst who empowered others to pursue shared goals. As an "active humanist," he spent his life advocating for media aesthetics grounded in the democratization of images.
Dr. Márton Orosz serves as the founder and Curator of the Collection of Photography and Media Arts at the Museum of Fine Arts – Hungarian National Gallery. Since 2014, he has been the Director of the Vasarely Museum in Budapest. He has curated numerous exhibitions across the globe, written books and articles on various art-related subjects, and delivered lectures in several locations, including Europe, the United States, and Asia. His research encompasses a wide range of fields, including light-based media, photography, avant-garde collecting, abstract geometric and kinetic art, computer art, motion picture, and animated film. His debut documentary, “György Kepes – Interthinking Art + Science”, was completed in 2023. It won the Iskra Award for Best Film at the DA2 Film Festival in Zagreb and has been recognized at numerous international festivals and events since, including the New Media Film Festival in Los Angeles.
Dr. Márton Orosz will be here for a talk-back after the film.