'Pipi' strip from Film Színház Irodalom (1941).
Tihamér Csemiczky was a Hungarian graphic artist, painter and writer. During the 1930s he was one of the foremost modernist poster designers in his home country. In his essays, he was at the vanguard of new technologies, and a keen promotor of the radio. For the magazine Film Színház Irodalom, he made the comic strip about the aspiring actress 'Pipi' in the 1940s.
Early life and career
Csemiczky was born in 1904 in Törtel, a town in central Hungary. He originally studied Pharmacy, but at the same time took courses in Graphic Design (1924-1925). By 1926 he was a graphic artist for the Hungarian radio newspaper Magyar Rádióujság, and in the following year he began making posters and illustrations. Later that decade he attended the atelier of the Bauhaus graphic designer Sándor Bortnyik, and underwent many influences from his teacher's geometric, constructivist poster style. The studio participated in the 1929 Budapest International Fair, where one of Csemiczky's designs won the competition.
Poster designer
The artist continued to design posters throughout the 1930s and 1940s, and with István Irsai he was one of the main artists who continued to work in the modernist style. Csemiczky's posters were characterized by their strong colors, flat shapes and modern typography, while his collages always made use of his own photographs. His work showed a great sense of modern technology, and he designed posters promoting electronic equipment, for instance Tungsram light bulbs. The radio companies Standard, Orion and Telefunken were also among his clientele.
Posters designed by Tihamér Csemiczky for Tungsram and Standard.
Magazine work
During that same period, Csemiczky did magazine work as well. He served as art director for several magazines, and he often wrote articles about art and science. He remained an illustrator for Magyar Rádióujság, and wrote many essays promoting the radio as an effective tool for popular education. His writings were also read during radio broadcasts. Between 1940 and 1944 he was the art director and editor and cartoonist for the cultural magazine Film Színház Irodalom. The magazine also ran 148 episodes of Csemiczky's comics serial 'Pipi a görl'. It starred the poor and not too clever dancing girl Pipi, who wants to become an actress.
Later life
During World War II, Csemiczky hid Jewish people in his home, for which he was eventually arrested by the Nazi oppressor. He escaped from captivity early in 1945. That year he briefly worked as editor of the political and literary magazine Újság. However, only eight issues were published because of paper shortage. Csemiczky then had his own pharmacy in Abony, Pest County, between 1945 and 1948. He later returned to graphic design, making commercial posters for the export companies Artex and Medimpex. Later in life, he designed leaflets and packages for pharmaceutical companies.
Death
Tihamér Csemiczky was also a painter, working in the tradition of the "Rome School" (a 1930s artist group who attended the Hungarian Academy in Rome). The artist passed away in Budapest on 9 August 1960, at the age of 56. His work was rediscovered in 1964, and a memorial exhibition was held at the Hungarian National Gallery.
