Secondary abstract: |
The DHLM group was active between 1970 and 1974. It was founded by artists who came from peripheral Slovene places. At that time, Prekmurje still had the image of a provincial place, which was visible in the cultural-artistic field as well. At the beginning of the 1970s, Ladislav Danč (1932-1979), Štefan Hauko (born 1935), Lojze Logar (1944-2014), and Franc Mesarič (born 1938) founded a group that changed the artistic activity in Prekmurje. After they had finished their studies at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana, all except Logar, who continued his studies and specialized in graphic arts, returned home. In the search for their own artistic expression, they assembled in a group that was not based on a programme; rather, it was created on the basis of friendship and search for different artistic paths. The artists exhibited together and hence enabled an interesting artistic activity in Prekmurje and the rest of Slovenia. A joint performance also enabled them to gain greater recognition and the possibility of further exhibitions. At the time of their artistic creation and forming of the group, new art movements were penetrating the Slovene scene of visual arts, and the artists from the group were including them into their work as well. This was being done most consistently by Logar, who was inspired by pop-art. His pop-art works have an important role in understanding pop-art in Slovenia. Among all artists in the group, Logar was the most recognizable, since he had already ensured his significant position in the Slovene visual arts of that time before the group was founded. Hence, before their joint performance, Logar had had an elaborate artistic programme, which included casualness and the popular world. At the time of the group's artistic activity, Danč began to include modernist elements into his works and made several creations that consisted of expressionist and symbolist components. Basically, his work was inspired by landscape, which he depicted using geometric and organic forms. Hauko engaged in figurative art, which interested him especially content-wise. His works are imbued with melancholy and themes such as life and death. Similar to Logar, Mesarič was inspired by casualness. At first, his artistic manifestation was very expressive, but later, he became interested in urban landscape. At the beginning, this landscape is made of geometric figures, but later, his works become occupied with actual urban places, which are depicted extremely realistically. With these works, Mesarič came very close to hyperrealism. The DHLM group ceased to exist in 1974. After that, the artists proceeded with their artistic activities individually, but their further work certainly has its roots in the group. It had contributed to their recognition and helped them to develop their artistic expression. The group has left a significant mark on the Slovene visual-arts scene; therefore, the members of the group have been included into Slovene art overviews. Thanks to their artistic activity, the art scene of Prekmurje has also become more active exhibition-wise. The artists brought modern artistic currents to Prekmurje, and they contributed to greater recognition of Prekmurje's artistic activity. They certainly had a significant role, which deserves a detailed discussion. |