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January 16, 2007 Ambassador of Hungary Honors Donovan and David Lynch – Raising Awareness about Stress-Reducing Meditation Programs for At-Risk Youth
The Ambassador of Hungary András Simonyi honored legendary singer/songwriter Donovan and acclaimed filmmaker David Lynch at a dinner at the Embassy of Hungary on January 13, 2007.
The dinner coincided with the Washington stop of the publication tour for David Lynch’s new book "Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness and Creativity," which started in New York and continues on to Los Angeles. On the tour, David Lynch discusses his new book, his new film "Inland Empire," and his new foundation. The aim of the David Lynch Foundation is to fund stress-reducing, creativity-enhancing meditation programs for at-risk youth in schools and universities nationwide.
David Lynch discussed his new book and his foundation’s goals at the dinner. Mr. Lynch is a globally renowned, “cult” filmmaker born in the United States. His best-known movies include "Twin Peaks," "Blue Velvet," "Elephant Man," "Lost Highway," "Mulholland Drive," and "Straight Story." His movies are recognizable and known for their creatively surrealistic style and unique visual imagery. Mr. Lynch emphasized at the dinner that meditation is a remarkable instrument to open the mind and enhance creativity. His new foundation set out to help at-risk young people deal better with stress and use their creative energies to the best of their abilities.
At the dinner at the Hungarian Embassy, Donovan performed some of his most popular songs: "Colours," "To Try for the Sun," "Catch the Wind," and "Hurdy Gurdy Man." Donovan is a British-born singer/songwriter/guitarist who blended folk, pop, jazz and psychedelia in his music. He taught his finger-picking guitar style to John Lennon and George Harrison in 1968. His songs have a lasting legacy and have become part of the world musical heritage.
In his remarks, Ambassador Simonyi expressed that he is a great believer in the force of creativity. He believes that creativity will be the most important resource of the 21st century. The Ambassador said he was intrigued by the ideas put forward by David and Donovan, and wished to create a platform to discuss this innovative approach to creativity. He also believes that new avenues have to be found in search of solutions to global problems where the arts will provide a true source of creativity. Ambassador Simonyi is a supporter and a practitioner of rock and roll music, with his band "The Coalition of the Willing," whose members were also present.
At the dinner, as part of the "setup," the Ambassador put on show the newly arrived set of paintings provided by the leading Hungarian contemporary artists for the Ambassador’s residence. The paintings include works by internationally acclaimed artists Károly Klimó, László Fehér, Tamás Soós and István Nádler. Through the paintings, Ambassador Simonyi wished to showcase a remarkable part of Hungarian creativity.
Participants at the dinner included Zbigniew Brzezinski and Anthony Lake, former National Security Advisors; Stephen Trachtenberg, President of George Washington University; Neale Perl, President of the Washington Performing Arts Society; Ambassador Bonnie McElveen-Hunter, Chairman of the American Red Cross; Michael Sonnenreich, former President of the Washington National Opera; John Bruton, former Irish Prime Minister and EU’s Ambassador in Washington; Sir David Manning, British Ambassador; Noel Fahey, Irish Ambassador and other dignitaries; representatives of the Washington arts scene and of the Washington press corps, members of Ambassador Simonyi’s band, and other personalities.
Photos by Gene Carl Feldman and the Embassy staff.
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