Friday, March 8, 2013

Livia Rusz

self-portrait

"A true ambassador of the Romanian-Hungarian cultural space through which messages are sent as fine art."

Livia Rusz is the most accomplished Romanian woman illustrators of our time, a most influential woman and A Great Lady of Tale. One cannot be too grateful for the chance to have grown up surrounded by her fascinating characters, her wonderful sense of color that lends such  uniqueness and contagious joy to the  tales she accompanies. Her indisputable trade marks: elegance and playfulness, comic and fairy, innocence and evil, rosy and fiery, all blend together into an enchanting never ending voyage. To be in Livia Rusz world's is a special treat, is an invitation one cannot resist, is the cherry on the cake one cannot refuse.

"Ever since I was a child  I knew I wanted to be a graphic artist. My father was a very talented man, but unfortunately he died young - I was only ten - so he could not teach meHe  wrote and drew very beautifuly. I drew day and night, but he was not really satisfied with my work, althought I tried very hard to please him. Once he enrolled me in the class of  teacher Szapos Sandor, a respected painter, where I was the  only child among adult artists. At the end of the course, my father was pleased to see I had  two drawings featured in the exposition. Then he gave me a paint set. I have preserved its box to this very day."

Livia Rusz (born September 28, 1930, in Cluj, Romania) is a Romanian-Hungarian graphic artist. Starting with 1958 she was a constant presence in the children Hungarian magazine Napsugár. Together with writer Fodor Sándor, she created Csipike, a dwarf figure, which became an immediate emblematic Romanian-Hungarian tale figure.
 
From 1966 Livia Rusz comic strips were beginning to be published in the Romanian children's magazines as well: Arici Pogonici, Cravata Rosie, Luminita, Cutezătorii and Şoimii Patriei. Livia Rusz had also started to work in illustration, primarily as a cover artist for various local publishing houses like Tineretului, Dacia, Kriterion, Ion Creanga and Garamond Junior. She was signed as one of the main illustrators for  Ion Creangă publishing house. She subsequently produced illustrations for many of the company's principal releases, including an edition of Ion Creangă's Childhood Memories and the first Romanian-language edition of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. She produced four comic book albums and eighty richly illustrated books.

With writer Lucia Olteanu she created the popular children's comics Mac and Cocofifi. Her other projects in comics included a rendition of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, as well as the comic strips Maimuţa Kio ("Kio the Monkey", "Makimajom") and Dan Buzdugan ("Dan the Mace") a medieval fantasy series, distinguished among her contributions for its more realistic visual style.

In 1987 Livia Rusz, due to the Communist regime, was forced to emigrate to west Germany, only to settle later in Budapest, Hungary where she presently resides. The change was described by the artist herself as a difficult one: "it was not easy for me to develop new roots, but as long as I could still work, I was alive." The following year she released two comic volumes Not all that glitters is gold (Nem mind arany, ami fénylik) and Miskali intervenes (Miskali közbelép), which enjoyed great popularity among the readers. In 1988 she begins working with the screenplay writer and comic book collector Kiss Ferenc. Together they create Prometheus, the tale of an ill-disposed do-gooder. In the same time they published Kalamajka Adventures series in the children's journal Dörmögő Dömötör.
 
Today is a special day and I dedicate it to this wonderful talented woman. Thank you for all the wonderful hours of my childhood, for the time I spent spellbound in front of the books you illustrated. You are an inspiration to us all. God bless you and keep you safe!
 



  
Works illustrated:

  • 1966  Piticul cel fioros  by Fodor Sándor, Publisher: Bucureşti, Editura Tineretului
  • 1968  Povesti de aur by N Batzaria, Publisher: Bucuresti, Ed. Tineretului
  • 1969  Zwickzwack und Blinzeblinz by Sándor Fodor, Publisher: Bukarest, Jugendverlag
  • 1969  Basme  by Wilhelm Hauff, Publisher: Editura Tineretului, Bucureşti
  • 1971  Zwickzwack, der glückliche Riese by Fodor Sándor, Publisher: Ion Creanga-Verlag
  • 1971 Kalif Storch, der kleine Muck und andere Märchen by Wilhelm Hauff Publisher: Wiesbaden , Emil Vollmer Verlag
  • 1971  Märchen  by Wilhelm Hauff, Publisher: Leipzig, Max Hesse
  • 1971  Aventurile Lui Mac  by Lucia Olteanu Publisher: Bucharest , Ion Creangǎ
  • 1972  Macks Abenteuer  by Lucia Olteanu, Publisher: Bukarest, Ion-Creangă-Verlag
  • 1972  Povesti, povestiri, amintiri  by Ion Creangă, Publisher: Bucuresti, Editura Ion Creangă
  • 1974  Mesék  by Wilhelm Hauff, Publisher: Bukarest, Ion Creangă Könyvkiadó
  • 1975 Szikra Ferkó: csodálatos történet kicsiknek és nagyoknak by György Méhes, Publisher: Bukarest, I. Creangă
  • 1975  O poveste cu un hobbit  By J. R. R. Tolkien Publisher: Ion Creangă, Bucureşti
  • 1976  Cenusareasa by Jacob Grimm; Wilhelm Grimm Publisher: Ion Creangă
  • 1979  Povesti, povestiri, amintiri  by Ion Creangă  Publisher: Bucuresti, I. Creangă
  • 1982  Cântăreţul vrăjitor By Robert Browning Publisher: Ion Creangă, Bucureşti
  • 1984  Csipike  by Sándor Fodor Publisher: Bukarest, Ion Creanga, Budapest,  Móra
  • 1987  Peter Pan and Wendy  by J M Barrie, Bucharest: Ion Creanga Publishing House
  • 1988  Méhész apó meséje  by Pál Esztergár Publisher: Budapest, Origo-press
  • 1989  A szarvastallér legendája: mesék  By Wilhelm Hauff Publisher: Budapest, Móra
  • 1989  Csipike, az óriás törpe by Sándor Fodor Publisher: Budapest, Origo-press
  • 1989  A kösziv  by Wilhelm Hauff Publisher: Budapest, Polygon
  • 1990 Csipike és a gonosz ostoba: a végső megpróbáltatás meséje by Sándor Fodor Publisher: Budapest, Rege
  • 1990  Hauff's fairy tales Wilhelm Hauff; Donald Law de Lauriston Publisher: London : Abbey Library
  • 1990  Povesti  by Jacob Grimm; Wilhelm Grimm Publisher: Bucuresți : Editura Garamond Junior
  • 1995  Többsincs királyfi  by Elek Benedek Publisher: Budapest, Magyar Könyvklub
  • 1999  Világszép nádszál kisasszony  by Elek Benedek; Lívia Rusz; Éva Ambrus Publisher: Pécs, Alexandra
  • 1999 Cenuşăreasa By Charles Perrault Publisher: Garamond junior, Cluj
  • 2002  Zengő ABC  by Ferenc Móra; Béla Rigó; Katalin Lukácsy Publisher: Pécs, Alexandra
  • 2003  Egy bátor kisegér viszontagságai  by Andor Bajor; Lívia Rusz Publisher: Pécs, Alexandra
  • 2009  Livia Rusz : o monografie  by Dodo Niţă; Ferenc Kiss; Mircea Opriţă Publisher: MJM
  • 2010  Cipi, acest pitic uriaş By Fodor Sándor  Publisher: Regis, Bucureşti

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