His distinctive forms taken toward abstraction, the unique visual world he brought from Bayreuth, and modern technology defined the exceptional craftsmanship and professionalism of his international and Hungarian work. Alongside the designer Vilmos Neogrády, directors who shaped his career and artistic character included Wolfgang Wagner, Otto Schenk, Harry Kupfer, Götz Friedrich, and in Hungary József Ruszt, László Vámos and Imre Kerényi. For him, set design was much more the creation of space than the crafting of décor.
In Bayreuth, at the Festspielhaus Theatre, he worked as designer’s assistant to Wolfgang Wagner, the owner–director: modelling, designing, painting, and applying technical innovations. Over their eight years of collaboration, he became the theatre leader’s intellectual partner. Working at the summer festival represented enormous professional prestige in both the musical and design fields. It was regarded as the finest experimental workshop, not least because financial constraints never limited creativity, innovation, or the possibilities offered by expertise and imagination. He applied pigment baked onto glass and hand-painted slides to create projected, nonfigurative atmospheric images and background elements (Tristan und Isolde, dir. Josef Svoboda, conducted by Herbert von Karajan). The world-famous conductor invited him to design the sets and light effects for the Salzburg Festival’s Wagner Ring cycle as well.
From 1968 onward he applied his international experience with materials, spatial composition and production organization at the Hungarian State Opera. He regarded László Vámos as his master, “who is able to be present in the creative process with complete empathy, while at the same time observing the whole as an outsider – with a cool head, rationality and infinite calm.” (Épített varázslat (Constructed Magic), Balassi, 2014, p. 47.) Alongside designers Péter Makai and Gábor Forray he developed his individual opera set designs.
The fiery-red colour harmony, plastic texture and painterly solutions of Il trovatore convinced the Opera’s leadership. The essence of the stage image was the symbol of the all-consuming fire. The painterly background lay in Csikós’ own innovation: “if the overall effect of the image is not good, then you have to spray it with dirty water, which causes the entire surface to mature and grey slightly. This is the so-called sfumato technique known from Italian painting, which the designer first applied in Bayreuth. A fine mist settles over the image, from beneath which the gold gleams through. If a background is too strong, it must be pushed back into the distance, and lights and blacks should be added at the very end. First the dark, then the light – this is what gives the image its plasticity.” (Constructed Magic, Balassi, 2014, p. 43.)
In 1983 he already participated as an exhibiting artist in the first scenography exhibition held at the Kunsthalle. The exhibition Dráma és tér (Drama and Space) was created through the cooperation of the Ministry of Culture, the Hungarian Theatre Arts Association, the Hungarian Theatre Institute (now operating as OSZMI), Hungarian Television and the Kunsthalle.
In his exhibited works it was also evident that József Ruszt’s ritual theatre and the spatial structuring of the Szeged Open-Air Festival shaped the expression of his individual and always recognizable vision: multi-level, tubular-frame constructions and spectacular light effects (Ljubljana Opera House, 1979, Bartók: A kékszakállú herceg vára [Bluebeard’s Castle], OSZMI/Model Collection, inv. no. 83.4.1.). He strongly applied the principle that “the quality of theatrical space is determined by the quality of the thought with which it is filled.” (Tamás Koltai: A térerő színháza [The Theatre of Spatial Force], Magyar Szcenográfia, Göncöl, 2005, p. 17.)
With his compositions he was able to accommodate all scenes of a play within a single space. Among his creative collaborators, it was Nelly Vágó’s costume world that influenced him the most. Their collaboration lasted from the 1990s until 2003 (until the costume designer’s early death); Aida was their final joint design. Yet this lavishly visual production could still be seen in 2014 on the Margit Island Open-Air Stage.
The 1988/1989 theatre season was a special one for the designer. It became a “Csikós season”, with Salome and Doctor Zhivago, while he was simultaneously designing for productions at the Vígszínház, the National Theatre, the Castle Theatre, the Dominican Courtyard, the Thália Theatre and the Congress Centre. In numerous productions his creative partner was the director János Szikora. The “Csikós-style” conception of Zhivago elicited a series of professional reviews: “its smoothly gliding black screens, which allowed varied framings, simultaneously created realistic and abstract space and, not least, offered the appealing visuality of black-and-white sequences that could be staged with theatrical ‘rubber optics’.” (from Tamás Koltai’s review, Kritika, 1989/3, p. 37.)
His filmic cut-technique on the opera stage proved a new challenge for the technical staff and for feasibility alike. What had been considered state-of-the-art visual technology in his earlier production in Szolnok had, in the opera, become an experiment pushing the limits of new possibilities.
His design work is not primarily about drawing, although of the entire work process this is his favourite part. Much more, his aim is the precise formation of details, supervision, staging, and the coordination of directing, technical and design tasks. “Today I already know that silences carry greater weight. One must resolve conflict. And if I pay attention to the other person, I find his motivations and often realise that he is right.” (Edit Konkoly: Bayreuth, Aichi, Városliget, Premier, 2005/5, p. 66.)
His execution methods are extremely varied: he seeks simple, austere materials, creating magic using wood, metal, fabric, canvas, and lightweight, easily movable styrofoam. Among his techniques, the ones he applies most often include aging for wood, distressing for fabrics, and, in the case of props and jewellery, antiquing, lacquering and detailed washing. He perfected these same execution techniques on styrofoam and other plastic pieces as well. He treats his sketches as open thoughts: “A sketch conveys the feeling that there is room for change, and I consider this an elegant and practical solution. Clear impulses, but possibilities still open.” (Constructed Magic, p.169.)
He built an illuminated stage floor from 102 cubes before an audience of forty thousand (Illés – Omega – Metro concert, People’s Stadium), multi-level box rows for the opera balls held annually from 1996 onwards, and colossal metal constructions with extraordinary humour and creativity. On a few occasions he even designed costumes (Sleeping Beauty, ballet, Chilean Opera; Falstaff, Bordeaux).
In 2001 at the Szeged Open-Air Festival he worked on the stage magic of the Szörényi Trilogy. Creating with clean, simple forms, he built well-known symbols of Hungarian history into his set. Saint Stephen is engulfed by the Holy Crown – this was the image with which he bid farewell in the production István, a király (Stephen, the King). He quickly recognised that in Szeged one must not work against the built heritage, the Cathedral. Csikós’ stage turns toward the audience, allowing every dancer and singer to be visible from every angle. This is why creating intercommunicating playing spaces is important. “I always watch the actor, the singer in rehearsal, who sometimes flails, suffers, but out of politeness – or simply to avoid conflict – does not say what is making him uneasy… He only senses that something is not right.” (Constructed Magic, The Art of Attila Csikós, Balassi, 2014, p. 22.)
In the 1990s, foreign commissions followed one after another. His career was strongly shaped by the professional creation of the visual world of arena concerts: the Caballé concert in Munich and Ulm, the performance of the Three Tenors in Hannover, and Plácido Domingo’s solo evening in Mannheim. According to the artist’s own credo, however, the greatest mega-production was the 1992 performance of Carmen on the Szeged Open-Air Stage. At the end of the decade, as the crown of his arena productions, he designed the monumental set images for Aida in Japan, in the city of Kokura. Using the same stage structure and platform, he then created the visual world in Wrocław for the visit of Pope John Paul II.
The foreign commissions were exceptional not only in terms of spectacle and security requirements, but also because at times he had to create constructed magic for more than 12,000 spectators. He designed in many major cities around the world – Munich, Vienna, Frankfurt, Paris, Bordeaux, Berlin, Rome, Verona, Trieste, Graz, Basel, Helsinki, Lisbon, Santiago de Chile, Kokura (Japan) – all venues for performances of Hungarian opera productions as well as spaces for monumental concerts featuring the sets and constructions of Attila Csikós. In 2005 he was commissioned to create a 6,000-square-metre romantic space for the Aichi World Exposition. (Organisers, managers: Prince Luitpold of Bavaria, Helmut Angerer).
The dance spaces designed for the ballet productions of the Hungarian State Opera’s Shakespeare cycle represented entirely different possibilities and concepts. In A makrancos Kata (The Taming of the Shrew) – the production choreographed by László Seregi to the music of Goldmark–Hidas–Seregi – he painted a romantic, burgundy-velvet, elegant world before the audience, while leaving free space for the dancers, whose choreography required open areas, by decorating and integrating the side walls of the stage.
The full exploitation of the playing space, the attentive following and supporting of the actors’ and singers’ gestures often continued to develop even during rehearsals. As a designer he followed the productions closely, from the first rehearsals to the premiere. In addition to the movement space, he placed exceptional emphasis on stage safety. “Every task promises only five minutes of happiness when the design is born! Everything else is sweaty work in which one must take part throughout, explaining everything and continuously checking every phase of the work, from metalwork to painting.” (Constructed Magic, p.79.)
In the constructed space, the monumentality of the visual world cannot become a prison or obstacle for the person shaping the character. In Attila Csikós’ interpretation, the designer “does not design a background, but a playing space; he does not paint the visual frame of the theatrical production but interprets the play to be presented in time and space.” (Foreword by Gábor Szigethy, PQ’91 catalogue, editors Andrea Soóky, Tímea Turnai, OSZMI, 1991, p. 1.)
The artist, originally from Ungvár (Uzhhorod), was offered a contract in Paris on the condition that he apply for French citizenship as a political refugee. He did not accept the offer, not only because of his international recognition but also because of the strong traits of his personality: “It would be unworthy of me; I cannot do such a thing to the country that accepted me and my family as refugees.” (Constructed Magic, Balassi, 2014, p. 71.)
On the Hungarian State Opera’s 2013 China tour, in Tianjin, the general public could admire the Csikós-style visual world of Verdi’s Il Trovatore, Aida and Rigoletto. Aida holds a prominent place in many respects within the designer’s oeuvre. Between 1987 and 2014 he brought it to the stage seven times, in different stagings, on Margaret Island, in Szeged, at the Hungarian State Opera, at the Erkel Theatre, and on international guest tours.
In all his creations he sought expressive form, a director–partner, and universal symbols to realize his artistic intention. “He is a master of his craft through and through: his artistic talent organically unites his architectural expertise with his love and understanding of music.” (József Finta’s laudation at the MMA inaugural lecture, published in Built Wonder, The Art of Csikós Attila, dust-jacket text, Balassi, 2005.) His art expresses painterliness, human-centred functional spaces and a visual world dissolved in light. As the memento of his constructed magic, Attila Csikós always designated the Ring cycle (R. Wagner: Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried, Götterdämmerung) as his defining set design. “I cannot help thinking that a decisive part of my oeuvre is made of paper, and thus these creations of mine will soon perish. The saddest thing is that if I could choose only a single set from all my works for eternity, it would be the Ring. The constructed magic.” (Constructed Magic, p. 139.)
The symbolic role of his sets and his individual concept of spatial construction appear most strongly in the built elements of the Ring. “The humility of knowing how to serve is one of the secrets of a good set. By itself – about itself it can say almost nothing – but together with the production it can mean EVERYTHING.” (József Finta: Laudation, 21 March 2014, MMA, library, Csikós külön gyűjtemény, DVD-R)
Between 2008 and 2012 the plans for his most significant interior-architectural work were completed – the historical Sigismund experience park, envisioned for a 92-hectare site in the Zsámbék Basin.
The European way of thinking, the creation of engaging environments, the pairing of creativity and humour, and the reinterpretation of Christian culture in his monumental spatial images and visual worlds make him one of the defining, indispensable and intellectually rich architectural artists of Hungarian design. His visual theatre does not lack modern stage elements either – he incorporates the newest generations of theatrical spotlights and projectors into his constructed magic. Finally, I quote from the ars poetica preserved and reinterpreted from his excellent professor, Dr. Frigyes Pogány, which encapsulates Attila Csikós’ work: “...in the broadest sense, scale is the common measure – optically perceptible – of the relationship of the parts to one another, to the whole, and to the observing human being, in which, ultimately, the spiritual connection between artwork and man is expressed.” He dedicated his Constructed Magic in this spirit to Emese, his only daughter. She is the background to his inspirations and magic, his happiness, the long-desired artistic family and his beautiful, fragile Emese. She gave inspiration and the wondrous meaning that unifies the parts into a whole in his artistic messages.
He defined the visual world of nearly 500 prose and musical productions, ballets and grand operas, restaurants and theme parks, knightly tournaments, entertainment centres, feature films and television films both in Hungary and abroad. Thus, in the bibliography we can present only a selection of his Hungarian stage and film productions, his international projects, and his interior-architectural designs.
[2016]
The author is a theatre historian and head of the scenography collections (OSZMI)