{{Short description|Canadian painter & poet (born 1936)}} {{Distinguish|Hartal}} {{Western name order|1=Hartal Pál}} {{original research|date=April 2020}} {{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see :Template:Infobox writer/doc --> | name = Paul Hartal | image = Paul-Hartal-2008-California-US-photo-by-Arye-Hartal.jpg | imagesize = 150px | caption = Paul Hartal, 2008, San Diego, California, US. | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1936}} | birth_place = Szeged, Hungary | occupation = Writer, Poet, Visual Artist, Literary Critic and Theorist | nationality = Canadian }}
'''Paul Hartal''' (born 1936)<ref>Mendelman, Bernard. (20 August 1997). ‘Mistaken kidnapping, plot of Saint-Laurent artists’ novel’. ''The Suburban, Artseen.'' Quebec: Canada.</ref> is a Canadian painter and poet, born in Szeged, Hungary. He has created the term "Lyrical Conceptualism"<ref>Constance Smith. (Ed.) ''Encyclopedia of Living Artists'', 9th Edition. ArtNetwork. Renaissance, CA. 1995. p. 84.</ref> to characterize his style in both painting and poetry,<ref>[https://www.poeticmind.co.uk/interviews-1/portals-of-the-mind-and-the-soul Portals of the mind and the Soul]</ref> attempting to unite the scientific with the creative, or intuitive.<ref>[https://art-history.concordia.ca/eea/artists/hartal.html Canadian Artists of Eastern European Origin.]</ref>
== Lyco art: Hartal's art theory ==
''Lyco art'', or ''lyrical conceptualism'', is a term coined by Hartal.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.federationofpoets.com/featurepaulhartal.htm |title=Canadian Federation of Poets: Featured poet - Paul Hartal |access-date=2006-11-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303215611/http://www.federationofpoets.com/featurepaulhartal.htm |archive-date=2016-03-03 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
In 1975, Hartal published ''A Manifesto on Lyrical Conceptualism'',<ref>Exler, Elizabeth. "Paul Hartal: A Manifesto on Lyrical Conceptualism". ''Manhattan Arts''. November–December 1992, p. 14.</ref> introducing Lycoism as a new art idea on the "periodic table of art." In this work, Hartal proposes a theory of art which runs contrary to what he claims is the traditional belief, that emotion and intellect are at odds with each other. Hartal proposes the idea that artists should be allowed to contribute to the emotional and intellectual development of society as scientists do.<ref>John K. Grande, ''The Creative Factor''. The Montreal Mirror, August 12–25, 1988. Page 23.</ref> In 1975, the Lyrical Conceptualism Society was established in Canada, directed by Hartal.<ref>Konyves, Tom. (July 21, 1979), "Poetry Corner" in The Montreal Star</ref><ref>[https://www.oxfordartonline.com/benezit/view/10.1093/benz/9780199773787.001.0001/acref-9780199773787-e-00084122 Oxford Art Online. Benezit Dictionary of Artists. "Hartal, Paul."]</ref>
In ''Mazes for the Mind'', Clifford Pickover draws attention to Hartal's view that we need the imagination, the insight, and the lateral reasoning faculty, as well as human values, which are excluded from the rigid methodology of science but are intrinsic to art: "The present human condition calls for the rise of a new, inclusive form of culture in which art should play a most prominent role."<ref>Clifford A. Pickover (1992). ''Mazes for the Mind''. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 277-79.</ref>
However, in introducing the notion of Lycoism, Hartal did not intend to form a new post-conceptualist splinter-trend; instead, his intention was the creation of a new philosophy of art in which the tearing down of the boundaries between art and science, the interlacement of the intuitive and the exact, and incorporation of the lyrical and the geometrical play a central role.<ref>Szombathy, Balint. "A lirai konceptualizmus muveszete: Paul Hartal elmeleti-gyakorlati torekvesei." ''Uj Forras''. April 1991, No. 4.</ref>{{original research inline|date=August 2022}}
==Concepts and ideals of Lyco art== Arguably, Lyco art identifies the meaning of art with its life-serving purpose.<ref>[https://issuu.com/postnoon/docs/postnoon_epaper_for_17_june_2012 Postnoon. Art and Culture. 7 June, 2012. Page 12.]</ref> Concerning itself with cultural transformation and the human condition, it seeks to expand the boundaries of aesthetics.<ref>Hartal, Paul. "The songs of the double helix: symmetry and lyrical conceptualism." ''Symmetry 2000 Part 2''. ed. Hargittai, I. and T.C. Laurent. London: Portland Press, 2002, pp. 503-518.</ref>
Lyco art proposes to create a conscious bridge between the impulsive, intuitional, and planned elements of the creative process,<ref>[https://www.poeticmind.co.uk/interviews-1/portals-of-the-mind-and-the-soul/ Interview with Paul Hartal (Poetic Mind, 2008, paragraph 20.)]</ref> thereby moving along the whole continuum of formative energies. This creative process represents the interaction of emotion and intellect, wherein the passion of logic and the logic of passion are inexorably interwoven through the voyage of aesthetic consciousness. Hartal's poetry was described as balancing "...dreamy emotion and discerning intellect..."<ref>[https://www.geraldengland.co.uk/revs/bs199.htm John Cartmel-Crossley. Review of Paul Hartal: Postmodern Light. NEW HOPE INTERNATIONAL REVIEW.]</ref>
Lycoism combines "geometric elements representing logic, shapeless forms symbolizing the creative process, and warm and cold colors indicating feelings."<ref>Edward Kim, "East meets West in Joint Exhibit". The Korea Herald, May 23, 1988, page 11.</ref>
In addition, since science and technology impact so much of modern lifestyle during the electronic age, Lycoism views the relationship of art, science, and technology as a pivotal concern. Lycoism refuses to polarize science and art; instead, it seeks to unify aesthetics and ethics in works which involve the use of science and technology by the artist in the creation of beauty.{{original research inline|date=August 2022}}
In accordance with these premises, Hartal formed The Centre for Art, Science and Technology in Montreal during the 1980s. The Centre has implemented a variety of interdisciplinary projects exploring the connections between several branches of arts and sciences, including painting, poetry, music, architecture, communication, artificial intelligence, mathematics, cosmology, and space exploration.<ref>Costa, Barbara. "Dell' 'aeropittura' futurista alla 'Space Art'." ''Epiphaneia/2''. Universita degli studi di Salerno, March 1997, pp. 38-42.</ref><ref>Hartal, Paul. "Homage to a Blue Planet: Aeronautical and Astronomical Artworks." ''Leonardo: Journal of the International Society for the Arts, Sciences and Technology'' (Leonardo/ISAST). V.25.2, 1992, pp. 211–215.</ref>
== Early life == Hartal relays that as a student in Szeged he participated in the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, and that a few months later he burned all his poems and papers and escaped to freedom.<ref>[https://www.writersunion.ca/member/paul-hartal The Writers' Union of Canada. Member Profile.]</ref>
==Gallery== <gallery> File:Château; 1976.jpg|Chateau – Oil on canvas, 76 cm x 92 cm, 1976 Collection: Musee du Chateau Ramezay Museum, Montreal File:Tree of Life with Six Fingers; 2003 hi-res.jpg|Tree of Life with Six Fingers – Acrylic on canvas, 18" x 24", 2003 Collection of Hanseo University Art Museum, Seoul </gallery>
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == *[https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lyco-art-paul-hartal/1143796283 Book 'Lyco Art', 2023.] * [https://www.poeticmind.co.uk/interviews-1/portals-of-the-mind-and-the-soul/ Interview: "Portals of the Mind and the Soul"] * [https://www.poeticmind.co.uk/research/the-discovery-of-an-esoteric-message-in-pascals-triangle/ The Discovery of an Esoteric Message in Pascal’s Triangle, by Paul Hartal.] * [https://paulhartal.weebly.com/index.html Hartal's official website] * [https://books.google.com/books?id=Q3egk8Ds6ogC&dq=paul+hartal+time,+relativity&pg=PA125 A poem by Hartal, quoted in Special Relativity and How it Works by Moses Fayngold ] * [https://www.poeticmind.co.uk/research/is-mathematics-a-form-of-religion/ Is mathematics a form of ‘religion’?, by Paul Hartal.] * [https://www.magyarulbabelben.net/index.php?page=authorPage&interfaceLang=en&literatureLang=all&translationLang=en&auth_id=2599&doc_id=0&do Collection poems in Hungarian and English.] * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pwg_NFmWsgo A short film adaptation of Hartal's poem 'Subway'.] * [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1575714#metadata_info_tab_contents Homage to a Blue Planet: Aeronautical and Astronomical Artworks (''Leonardo'', Vol. 25, No. 2 (1992), pp. 211-215).] * [https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-chestnut-tree-for-anne-frank/ Poem 'The Chestnut Tree (For Anne Frank)', by Hartal.] * [https://www.chabad.org/theJewishWoman/article_cdo/aid/1723860/jewish/Irena-Sendler.htm 'Irena Sendler', by Hartal.] * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0HntXJdiX0 Lyco Art Explained, by Anat Tour via Youtube] * [http://bibcat.gallery.ca/search/ahartal+paul+1936 A list of publications.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200531105238/http://bibcat.gallery.ca/search/ahartal+paul+1936 |date=2020-05-31 }} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hartal, Paul}} Category:1936 births Category:Living people Category:20th-century Canadian painters Category:Canadian male painters Category:21st-century Canadian painters Category:20th-century Canadian poets Category:Canadian male poets Category:Expressionist painters Category:Hungarian painters Category:20th-century Hungarian poets Category:Israeli painters Category:Israeli poets Category:Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni Category:Concordia University alumni Category:Columbia Pacific University alumni Category:Jewish Canadian poets Category:Hungarian male poets Category:20th-century Canadian male writers Category:20th-century Canadian male artists Category:21st-century Canadian male artists