István Orosz
István Orosz (born 24 October 1951) is a Hungarian painter, printmaker, graphic designer and animated film director. He is known for his mathematically inspired works, impossible objects, optical illusions, double-meaning images and anamorphoses. The geometric art of István Orosz, with forced perspectives and optical illusions, has been compared to works by M. C. Escher.
== Biography ==
He was born in Kecskemét. He studied at the Hungarian University of Arts and Design (now Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design) in Budapest as a pupil of István Balogh and Ernő Rubik. After graduating in 1975 he began to deal with theatre as a stage designer and animated film as animator and film director. He is known as painter, printmaker, poster designer, and illustrator as well. He likes to use visual paradox, double meaning images, and illusionistic approaches while following traditional printing techniques such as woodcutting and etching. He also tries to renew the technique of anamorphosis. He is a regular participant in the major international biennials of posters and graphic art and his works have been shown in individual and group exhibitions in Hungary and abroad. Film director at the PannóniaFilm Studio in Budapest, Habil. professor at University of West Hungary in Sopron, co-founder of Hungarian Poster Association, member of Alliance Graphique International (AGI) and Hungarian Art Academie. He often uses ΟΥΤΙΣ, or Utisz, (pronounced: outis) (No one) as artist's pseudonym.
== Quotes ==
Utisz - It was the Homeric hero Odysseus, who fought the Cyclops, had used this name, and had put out the monster's eye. I imagine that poster is nothing else but an Odysseus' gesture: some kind of attack upon the eye.
If you want to create a poster try to explain your idea in a sentence. Then try to reduce it, leave out phrases, attributes until you just have the bare essentials. When you do not need any letter at all you are ready with the poster.
... When I have drawn these impossible objects, I did hope everybody would understand my intention, the intention of a Hungarian designer at the end of the 20th century who does not tell the truth just in order to be caught in the act.
There are things I can imagine and I can draw. There are things I can imagine but I cannot draw. But, could I draw something that I cannot imagine? That interests me greatly.
== Introduction by Guy D'Obonner ==
During the last two decades – when most of the works shown here were made – the activities of the poster designer, the printmaker, the illustrator, and the film director have completed each other. Many motive, stylistic features, technical solutions appeared in all of the media and for Orosz it seemingly did not cause any problem to cross the borders of the different genres. When he was drawing a poster usually he did it with the preciseness of illustrators, when he was illustrating a book, he did it with the narrative mood of filmmakers, if he was animating films, sometimes he used the several layers approach of etchers and engravers and for prints he often chose the emblematic simplifying way of depiction of posters. If we call him only a poster designer based on his functional prints, we narrow down his field of activity, we go closer to the truth if we associate him with „postering as a way of thinking, or if we call his many sided image depicting ourselves and our age as the poster-mirror of István Orosz. (Guy d'Obonner: Transfiguration of Poster - detail)
== Poster art ==
István Orosz was known as poster designer in the first part of his career. He made mainly cultural posters for theatres,  movies,  galleries,  museums and publishing houses  At the time of the revolutions of 1989 in Eastern Europe he drew some political posters too. His Tovarishi Adieu (also used with text Tovarishi Koniec – that means Comrades it is over) appeared in many countries and it was known as symbolic image of changes in the area.
== His anamorphoses ==
Artists who design anamorphosis (anamorphosis is Greek for re-transformation) play with perspective to create a distorted image that appears normal only when viewed from the correct angle or with the aid of curved mirrors. The technique was often used by Renaissance-era artists. Orosz tries to renew the technique of anamorphosis and his aim is to develop it as well when he gives a meaning to the distorted image, too. It is not an amorph picture any more, but a meaningful depiction that is independent from the result that appears in the mirror or viewed from a special point of view.
This approach of anamorphoses is suitable for expressing more sophisticated messages, and it fits to show more amusing fun.
== Exhibitions ==1997 Chicago, I Space Gallery
1997 Thessaloniki, Aristotelian University
1998 Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, (Payne Gallery, Moravian College)
2000 Silkeborg, Kunst Center
2000 Istanbul, Bilgi Üniversitesi
2002 Bratislava, Slovenska Narodná Galeria
2004 Toruń, Galeria Sztuki Wozownia
2004 The Hague, Escher Museum
2006 Budapest, Ernst Museum
2007 Essen, Grillo Theater
2008 Jorwert, Reformed Church
2009 Melbourne, Glen Eira City Council Gallery
2009 TMDG2009, Argentina Mar del Plata
2010 Budapest, Koller Gallery
2011: Kecskemét, Cifrapalota
2012: Győr, Esterházy-palota
2013: Moscow, Sberbank Gallery
2013: Brescia, Galleria dell'Incisione
2014: Jyväskylä, Galleria Ratamo
2013–2014: Ankara, Güler Sanat Gallery
2017: Badacsony, Egry József Múzeum
== Films ==
1977 Silence
1978 Towards to the Salt Celler
1980 Private Nightmare
1984 Ah, Amerika! (Ah, America!)
1989 Vigyázat lépcső! (Mind the Steps!)
1993 The Garden
1995 Cry!
2001 Black Hole - White Hole
2004 Az idő látképei (Time Sights) on YouTube
2008 Útvesztők (Mazes)
2010 Sakk! (Chess!)
2014 A rajzoló (The Drawer)
== Awards ==
1985 Best Script (shared with Ferenc Dániel) for Ah, Amerika! (Ah, America!) at the 1st KAFF Animated Film Festival, Kecskemét.
1990 Gold Medal at the Biennial of Graphic Design, Brno
1991 First Prize at the International Poster Biennial, Lahti
1991 Main Prize of Mediawave Film Festival, Győr
1993 Award for the Category of Short Films for Vigyázat lépcső! (Beware of Steps!) at the 3rd KAFF Animated Film Festival, Kecskemét.
1994 Icograda-prize at the International Poster Show, Chaumont
2000 Creative Distinction Award of European Design Annual, Dublin
2001 Gold medal at the Annual Exhibition of Society of Illustrators, New York City
2005 Grand Prix and Award of Film and TV Critics (tied with Igor Lazin) for Az idő látképei (Time Sights) at the 7th KAFF Animated Film Festival, Kecskemét.
2007 Pro Ludo Ring, Budapest
2007 Plakat Kunst Hof Ruettenscheid Prize, Essen
2009 Special Award for Best Visual Language (tied with Zoltán Szilágyi Varga) for Útvesztők (Mazes) at the 9th KAFF Animated Film Festival, Kecskemét.
2011 Kossuth Award, Budapest
== Books ==
ΟΥΤΙΣ - Orosz István. Balassi Kiadó, Budapest, 1994.
István Orosz, Exhibition Book, Hammerpress – GrafikArchive, Kansas City, 1998 at the Wayback Machine (archived March 11, 2007).
Vladislav Rostoka: István Orosz / Posters. Rabbit&Solution, Bratislava, 2002.
Al Seckel: Masters of Deception Sterling Publishing Co. New York, 2004.
Deep Down - István Orosz. Catalogue of the Orosz bij Escher exhibition, The Hague, 2004.
Clouds for Polonius. Ernst Múzeum, Budapest, 2006.
The Drawn Time (A lerajzolt idő), 2008.
István Orosz: Vision of Design. Index Books / Hesign, Berlin - Shanghai, 2007 at the Wayback Machine (archived January 31, 2011).
István Orosz: The Ambassador and the Pharaoh - Tipotex, Budapest, 2011 at the Wayback Machine (archived March 4, 2016). (Book excerpt)
Chess in the Island (Sakkparti a szigeten), 2015
A Rhino Remembered, 2016
Time Sights (Az idő látképei), 2016.
Utisz
Anamorphosis
Impossible objects
Hidden faces
== Notes ==
== External links ==
Website of István Orosz Archived 2012-01-02 at the Wayback Machine
István Orosz at IMDb
Poster book of István Orosz
Time Sights animated film on YouTube
Mind the Steps! animated film on YouTube
Anamorphoses at the Wayback Machine (archived May 11, 2012)
Hyperion
Marlena Agency
AGI
Math Art
Perspective Exhibition
Exhibition Book at the Wayback Machine (archived March 11, 2007)
Istvan Orosz and the Illusion of the Visual Enigma at the Wayback Machine (archived November 24, 2007)
His article in the book: M. C. Escher's Legacy
Exhibition catalogue: Istvan Orosz and Guntar Sietins, 2016
István Orosz in ArtaBase Archived 2009-12-13 at the Wayback Machine
Istvan Orosz in Artfacts