DOCUMENTARY VIDEO DESIGNED AND DIRECTED BY STEPHANIE MEYER 1996 INTERVIEW Video Festival Winner Arts Programing
2019 POETS CAFÉ INTERVIEW
Interview by Lois Jones
Intervew by Lance Mungia
Susan Dobay - in front of one of her paintingsread more
What are the interior qualities of your artistic life, what makes you an artist?
Given talent alone does not make an artist, the artist has to have discipline to work hard and find a way to express him-/herself no matter of circumstances.
"Számomra, amit írtál. Senki nem engedett még be engem így a művészi világába, mint ez a könyv. Megnéztelek a youtube-on is, most is lehet Benned látni azt a kislányt, aki a bombázás alatt énekel, táncol az embereknek. :)Debrecen is, Kína is, Budapest is olyanok, hogy többet elmondasz róluk, mint a sok információ.
"It was with great pleasure that I explored your book. I always find it extremely interesting when a visual artist expresses him or herself verbally. It is preciscely why, because of the personal resonance of the book, I don’t want to, and it is not possible to, critique the content or the images. I simply enjoyed the way the personal message and visual artistry unfolded page by page. ’’ Congratulations!
’’I like your book very much : It is versitale, honest, multicolored . It captured me with its magical within and without beauty, the natural and at the same time poetical context. I received true answers to those questions that you are in
engaged. Furthermore
your
sad and happy passages of life in conection with the already known creations got into a new dimension. Through your book I got to know
the life of a true artist and a true human being.’’
’’Your book is fascinating. I feel you are speaking for all creative people, for all artists, specially those who wished someone would express how they felt expressing themselves ’’
“I have spent the day reading your beautiful BOOK!! I loved every minute of it! All the color that feeds my soul and the brilliant, genius mind that brings out the questions that life asks us.. that some will never discover. Real, and authentic and “in your place” where an artist fulfills a purpose to move goodness into others... You have blessed my life, my journey...paths cross like painting lines from the Master’s hand.”
“ This book is not strictly autobiographical, although Dobay shares some of the major events that have influenced her life and art. But she manages to make the personal-universal, such as her growing up in war-torn Hungary during WWII, which lead readers to think about how today’s young children are managing to grow up in the middle of war. The events Dobay shares add interest and depth as she searches for the meaning of art and shares the thoughts of the intellectuals who have influenced her. Susan Dobays book is enhanced by her paintings and compositional art, which like herself, has many Layers.
“Congratulations, Susan. This book will give artists the incentive to honor their work. “
“I am awe of what you have been able to become: artist par excellence, speaker and mentor. You are truly an inspiration to the young people.”
‘’I am so happy that your book has been published. Whoever is fortunate enough to receive a copy can learn much from it.”
‘’ Thank you for sharing your journey and your insights about being an artist. Your book encourages those of us who try to share their creative impulse and all who appreciate art. Best wishes in inspiring young artists in particular, who need all the support they can get for exploring and expressing themselves in a variety of media.”
“ Your accomplishment is awesome and therefore can be educational in many different ways to different people.”
’’ This gorgeous collection of art, memories, and sage words both delights and inspires. We might all wish to be more like Susan who has persistently followed her own path of passion, intuition, and ideals. Here is a book, an art, and a life, we can all admire.”
’’I have your book and it’s wonderful ’’
“It is a great gift to all of us that you have worked to create your magnificent artwork and to express the mystery of passionate and natural creativity in this book. You have worked strongly with a sensitive heart to the beauty and difficulties of life with the positive power of the artist to express and even transform the world. Part of your process has been to embrace our community of Poets on Site as "kindred spirits" and to nourish their artistic strength by hosting them in your home and in this book. The Poets on Site have been attracted by the unique colorful world you have created artistically in your "incessant search" for meaning. You have expanded and included all of us who know you in person and all who this book like a door into understanding themselves and art itself. By making your book you have gone one step further, in giving a key to the door of an artistic life. It is a miniature of the large world you have created. And our poems are honored as part of that world. An artist works alone but in concert with all the artistic strength and questioning of human history. You open your door to this by creating art and sharing it in this special way. “
“ Susan, it’s such a treat to read through your book. I think it’s a wonderful representation of who you are. I know I have only known you a short while during your long, creative life, but the combination of your art, your philosophical thoughts on life’s myriad joys and struggles, and the poems of those who had the privilege of encountering you and your paintings shows an entire crop of bountiful relationships from which more creative lives and more creative art will come. I especially enjoy reading and watching how different poets respond to your art in different ways, which are also different from my own. It’s a great way to keep learning about life, art, and the world. Thank you for sharing your book, your gallery, and your life with me!
“ We are deeply touched by your lifelong dedication to the exploration of the human condition through your art. Spiritual, musical and historical insights alternate with whimsical images that captivate the viewer. Talent and imagination and insight created a gift to us all. Thank you Ms. Dobay”
“After reading your book I came to the conclusion that you are not only a gifted painter, but a great author as well. Your resume is awesome. You are a wonderful source of pleasure for us whether you depict human suffering or a series of classical music inspired pictures or your lovely daughter and influence others to go down the same path. You are constantly seeking new ideas and reinventing yourself. You are equally at home in all genre. You are blessed with tremendous talent and please, continue to share it with the rest of the world and set an example for the younger generation.”
My dearest Susan “I thank you with all my heart for letting me read your book. I encountered ideas which inspired further contemplation. You are most certainly an opinion-maker among artists, art supporters, and art lovers, in the community of serious and fair-minded people. Many thanks to you for prodding us, your readers, to consider the things you wrote in your book. We should not be merely observers of event happening around us but dare to: think, form independent opinions, not to accept clichéd answers.
“Susan (Zsuzsa) Dobay is a visual artist of Hungarian origin, living in the United States. She and her husband fled Hungary following the suppression of the 1956 Revolution, She lives and creates in the Los Angeles area community of Monrovia.Dobay’s art and artistic credo are universal. She is an experimental artist, constantly seeking the new in the world and in herself. She connects the past to the present and to the issues of the future. She questions continually, examining the most crucial aspects of life. As she seeks art’s place in the world, she cross-examines the mysteries of humanity and the world. Dobay’s art simultaneously mirrors both the rational conception of the world and its meditative aspects. Her works completely express her mode of vision. At the same time, that does not prevent her from also being an artist of emotion. In her pictures, she invariably transmits the seen and observed world via emotional impulses. She raises and approaches the principal philosophical issues of the world in terms of their ethical aspects. The human aspect of humanity stands at the center of her thought and her art. “I have no religion, but I do have faith,” she proclaims in her painting and, with respect to life, in her words. This motto simultaneously lays bare the relativity concealed in her world view: the fact that she can see everything in its own provisional nature – and it may be precisely this that opens her up to constant renewal. She has never been satisfied with the results of one or another of her artistic periods. We can distinguish several artistic periods and styles in her art. Even as she likes, and – in contrast to many artists – does not “deny” her earliest works. On the contrary, it is characteristic of her and her art that she will “reuse” one motif or another as the principal defining moment of her life, while reconstructing it in a new context. Serenity and an embrace of life radiate from her and her work: as though she always seeks to transmit optimal balance through her painting. Even her works inspired by world politics and social critique spring from energetic, positive conviction.” Lilla Szabo, Art historian, Hungarian National Gallery
“ Her work offers a rich cross section of our century’s spiritual and stylistic movement. Her work is part of that artistic movement which express in a contemporary manner the sensitivity, the mentality, and cultural needs of modern man facing the turn of the millennium.”
“ She has the courage to use the visual tools and forms to say many things in many different ways.” Gabor O. Pogan y, Art Historian ( Retired director of the Hungarian National Gallery)
“The monumental yet sensitively refined forms give a unique floating sensation to the work, which reflects simultaneously the
link between artistic tradition and individual trademark of the artist.” Andras Bohar, Art Critic, (Art Today Magazine)
"No matter what her subject, her style is her signature" Madla Hruza, Director of Museum of Art, Downtown Los Angeles
“ A Cervantes with a brush” Bernardo Blanco Gonzales, Ph. D., Author
“Dobay’s love, emotion, and philosophy have exploded on canvas: Dobay’s creation had to be born.” Akos Thiery, Ph. D. , Art Historian
“Dobay’s creations have impact not only on the mind, but their unusual concepts and color compositions shake up the emotions too.” L. Babonici, Ph.D., Art History
“Dobay projects her thoughts with a newly modern assuredly contemporary flair.” Lilla Szabo, Art Historian - Hungarian National Gallery
“ To see her work is an exciting classical experience; it is timeless.” KFAC radio
“Inspiration has different ways, one takes to reality, the other beyond it. Your painting is a dream source of imagination which takes one into a dreamlike reality.” Eugene Zador, Composer