Retrospectively special. Inadvertent art photography with an unintended message by FŐFOTÓ of Budapest.

FŐFOTÓ photographic studios of Budapest did all kinds of work in the late 1960s-early 1970s, mostly they shot products, fashion and advertising scenarios. They also photographed something that is now special which at the time was probably a simple chore. FŐFOTÓ had the Budapest Cinema Company (FŐMO) contract to photograph all the advertising posters for the latest movie releases,in-situ around the city. These photographs were simply proof, evidence for the cinema company files that the advertising they’d paid for was actually out there on the streets being seen.

Over half a century on, theFŐFOTÓ images achieve a lot more than was intended. The graphic typography and boldcinema illustrations set against the cold, stark Budapest streetscapes talk to an old city battered by revolution finally moving forward culturally in the aftermath of Soviet occupation. Even without any historical context – the simple contrast/juxtaposition/tension of the old world and the new – has made these images retrospectively special.

The photographer’s name is long lost. Another anonymous artiste.