Apple computer graphic, 1988

Laszlo Rajk
Apple computer graphic, 1988
Computer graphic on paper

9 x 12 in
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This series of handmade and digital drawings were conceived at the Apple Headquarters in Paris, France. In 1988, Rajk was working in Paris to design a memorial in the Père-Lachaise cemetery for prime minister Imre Nagy and the martyrs of the 1956 revolution in Hungary. Artist Pierre Ponant and his circle of friends introduced computer graphics to Rajk, a technique that was still relatively uncommon among artists at the time. The series evokes the aesthetics of early video games, futuristic architectural renderings as well as some of the urban concepts of the avant-garde British architecture group, Archigram.

The works playfully combine architectural fantasy with various political references, such as the flag with a hole, a symbol of the 1956 revolution in Hungary and the motto liberty, equality, fraternity (liberté, egalité, fraternité) originating from the French Revolution. The drawings represent Rajk’s deep interest in technology and world-building through design and art while also manifesting a profound political concept.

Starting in the 1970s, Rajk was an active member of the underground political movement called the Democratic Opposition. This group consisted of Hungarian intellectuals, philosophers, writers, and artists who clandestinely gathered in private apartments and circulated samizdat journals. Rajk played an essential role in the transition to democracy in Hungary, culminating in the peaceful establishment of a democratic system in 1989. Throughout his life, Rajk maintained a keen interest in technology, ultimately contributing to the development of Hungary's first design master's program in game design.