Artist's book - Old Hungarian 'Lamentations of Mary' (the oldest extant Hungarian poem)

Art book is the genre of the 20th century, seeking new paths and stepping out of the frameworks of traditional book bindings. It stretches the restricted, limited opportunities of books. It is also an example showing how different fields of art and genres intermix in the second half of the 20th century they may not be clearly separated and the art book is also at the edge of applied arts, graphics, painting and even sculpture. Fantasy opens up the frontiers, using the widest range of material, and the combination of techniques gives opportunities for experiments and results in unexpected, sometimes astounding effects. Ilona Kiss is an internationally acclaimed artist of the genre, she was present and was awarded at several exhibitions her works can be found in several Hungarian and international collections. She made her art book titled “Old Hungarian 'Lamentations of Mary'” in 1996, in the year of the Millecentennial of the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin, using combined techniques. Its base is the “worked” paper, but she used various other materials as well, primarily metal. The black colour dominates, expressing pain and mourning. The shape is once again an excellent choice for this subject – the colours as well as the choice of the cold, hard and rigid material.