1970s Hungarian New Left Mural and Graphics Depict Angela Davis, Revealing Complex Racial Politics

In 1970-1971, a mural was painted in Ferenc Kőszeg's Budapest apartment by artist György Kemény, featuring Angela Davis alongside Karl Marx and György Lukács. The work was conceptualized by young Hungarian intellectuals including György Bence and János Kenedi, who identified with New Left ideologies. Davis appears with the German term "Rassenbewusstsein" (race consciousness) above her head, depicted as an active revolutionary philosopher rather than a victim. Meanwhile, the Orfeo Group, another leftist artist collective including István Malgot and Anna Komjáthy, created black-and-white lithographs of Davis for a 1971 solidarity event at the Budapest Sports Arena. Komjáthy's image portrayed Davis in handcuffs, referencing Gyula Derkovits' woodcuts of peasant uprisings. Both representations emerged during a period when Eastern European socialist states officially promoted anti-racism while often ignoring domestic racial issues. The mural's creators debated Davis's inclusion, with Kőszeg noting her "exotic and sexy" appearance influenced the decision. Davis's 1970 trial and subsequent Eastern Bloc tour made her a propaganda icon, complicating her reception among Hungarian dissidents. The analysis examines how these visual representations diverged from their creators' stated anti-racist goals, exposing both color-coded exoticization and color-blind neglect of local racism. Research was conducted at the University of Zurich with funding from the Gerda Henkel Foundation.