While we’re on the topic of beautifully ugly public tenders in Hungary, we should mention a real masterpiece that recently came to our attention. Late last month it was announced that a company called Hungart Logistic Kft had won a tender worth Ft 175 million to transport 80 paintings brought in from various art collections for the “Turner and Italy” show at the Budapest Museum of Fine Arts. Which works out to just over Ft 2 million (just under €7,500) per picture, or (according to some people we know familiar with the deal) at least five times what it should cost. Unsurprisingly, this year’s “Turner prize” was not the first such gilded contract for the firm, and probably will not be the last.
So what’s the secret of this company’s success? Some say it just comes down to the firm having long ago figured out exactly who it needs to keep sweet in order to keep winning such rich tenders – and how to make sure that the people kept sweet keep anyone else from souring things up with additional competition.
Meanwhile, just like the corrupt old Pope use to cover up the dirty bits of statues, there is a nice little fig leaf in operation here, in the form of a requirement that bidders for such tenders invest in expensive specialized trucks and other gear. But of course, no one is willing to make such investments if they suspect that they are not going to win the tender anyway.
Again, note that all this is just rumor. Or, for aficionados of such no-competition tenders, art appreciation.
Now, that promises to be a wonderful exhibition indeed, although compared to some of the Hungarian master painters of that same period, Turner wasn’t all that much of a major artist, really. Yeah, getting these paintings transported safely is an expensive business. Are we to understand that it would have been somehow preferred that no such exhibit takes place at all at the Hungarian Museum of Fine Arts? Or what exactly is the problem? Maybe some ex-pats are complaining here because the “wrong firm” had won the tender?
Frankoferko- Yes, that’s exactly it, we wish there was no expo and the wrong firm won the tender, it has nothing to do with seeing so much money wasted unnecessary. But I guess it doesn’t matter to you that insiders said the contract was worth 1/5 of the tender. Maybe it’s you who doesn’t like art as with less money the Budapest Museum of Fine Arts couldn’t afford better works of art.
Yeah, bringing in this much pricey Western junk to, of all places, Hungary – land of some of the world’s greatest painters – is plain stupid. But as long as mostly private money is being paid for it, it’s all right, I suppose. And like with previous high-caliber special exhibits at the MFA, this one will also likely to make a hefty profit for the organizers.
Who Cares, I am not following your “arguments” at all, so there is a simple course of action still available for you: do not go to see the exhibit. Everyone involved with the show will thank you for it, surely. See, that wasn’t so hard, was it now?
Touring collections of works of art is a business and adds to the integration of an overall human cultural heritage. Whether its your taste or not, the fact is people all over the continent can participate and share the experience. Perhaps there’ll someday be tours made of the HU masterpieces…
Next this posting is speculation. It may not be true! But if it is then it’s questionable as to how something (especially if its private) could be so out of whack (5 times more expensive than comparable services).
Now there could be an ulterior motive, for example, for some HU firm to get capitalized to compete in this game of art shipping. And that also isn’t postulated here. If so as long as the gov’t isn’t involved, I guess that’s legal by EU standards.
Lastly, a forum such as this helps to expose and hopefully reduce the corruption that all of us either directly or indirectly end up having to fund. I don’t see anything wrong (or not in our common, HU resident interest) with that.
Rolrox, you made plenty of quasi-valid statements here, but guess one: not one of them is spot-on.
To start with, the only thing a “touring collection of works of art” part. Yes, it is business. And if the circus does not make a net profit, guess what: sooner or later, someone is going to pull the plug on it.
Next, nothing is “5 times more expensive” than something else comparable to it. That would make no sense at all.
Finally, I am so glad I do not live on a continent where the continent’s government — the globally notorious EU — would even remotely possibly have the power of “regulating” what private firms charge for various services. That would be Big Brother run amok — but apparently, those Europeans who somehow think that Europe is still Number One (ha-ha-ha-ha) are all for that sort of crap.
Back to the article: I know of at least one FOREIGN-OWNED art shipping business operated in Budapest by an EX-PATRIATE AMERICAN BLOKE. When I got a quote from his outfit a while back, his prices were almost three times as much as for what a 100% Hungarian firm was finally able to ship the antique furniture pieces for me out of Hungary. Could it not be that all we are reading in the “article” here is just a bunch of sour grapes by the loser or losers of this tender?
Tsk, tsk… Anyhow, packing, shipping, unpacking, re-packing, and shipping back an almost invaluable, large piece of art by this Turner fellow for a mere €7,500 per item sounds like a real deal to me.
Yeah, this is a really dumb “article.”
Consider these factors:
1. Turner’s paintings are usually really large items. At this level, the canvas is usally shipped stretched and in the actual frame.
2. Packing, shipping, unpacking, re-packing, and shipping back an almost invaluable, large piece of art by this Turner fellow for a mere €7,500 per item sounds like a real bargain.
3. If the “real price” of this should be maximum one-fith of the above quoted amount, that means that someone should package, ship, unpack, exhibit, re-pack, ship back to a museum or private collector in a foreign country or continent, then and unpack a Turner masterpiece for a mere €1,500 per item, and amount constituting one-firth of the €7,500 number quoted.
Probably only the writer of this “article” thinks that that is something doable and possible in 2009. This piece here is what is kmnown as “biased journalism,” and it is is scandalously bad production even at that, as a matter of fact.
@Frankoferko: I agree absolutely – it’s only Hungarians stealing from Hungarians, so there is no cause for alarm.
Nonsense you say, Erik. Hungarians are particularly fond of ripping-off members of the foreign economic invasionary forces presently polluting their homeland, I understand. In fact, to rip-off foreigners by any and all means is almost a sworn duty of all Hungarian citizens of adult age.
You’ll soon find out, Friend. Add to this the fact that whenever they can, expats are ripping-off other expats, so if you are an expat in Hungary, seems like everyone is after your hide in Hungary, right? What a bona-fide rip-off, eh!?
Frankofero. Hungarians feel it is their duty to rip off foreigners? Quite true.
Foreigners find out later, curse Hungarians, and there is no repeat business.
Whether this dubious practice has been learned from fifty years of commie/soviet occupation,or, is
an inherent trait is debatable.
Do Hungarians think themselves a master race?
Certainly not most of the fat, ugly ones, that I see on a daily basis have any such delusion.
They would like to ship themselves off somewhere as works of art at inflated prices.
But, alas, autobus to the local market is king!!!
Hello There, Painter Man, but you know… you don’t really have to take everything literally, at face value. Have you ever heard of ‘sarcasm,’ for instance?
BTW, Rembrandt, if you really want to see deformed AND fat AND ugly AND truly disgusting people in large quantity, you should schedule a visit to the United States of America one day. Just go into the first Wal Mart or K-Mart or Sam’s Club or BJ’s that you come across and look around. You will immediately know, too, that God’s ugliest, most deformed creatures by far are the Yanks. In fact, the very existence of Americans as a species goes in exact opposite of Darwinism. Which is probably why the Yanks, for the most aprt, beieve in Creationism instead.
I still haven’t been able to figure out how that is even possible. Any help you can provide here in this regard, perhaps?