Magyar Hírek, 1987 (40. évfolyam, 1-23. szám)
1987-04-05 / 7. szám
Ute taaqgafeffi feaeg A HUNGARIAN DESIGNER IN HAWAII A gx'ey beard met me at the airport of Hawaii, Árpád Rosti, the architect and interior designer. Right from the first moment I felt as if we were friends from way back, his direct manner's and wit helped us get over those minutes that followed our meeting. We went on to his house to have a good talk. “How did you become an interior designer?” “I completed secondary school in Győr, then 1 studied architecture at the Carolina University in Prague. After graduation I had the luck to work under Gyula Kaesz, in Budapest. He coined the term építőiparművész which in Hungarian envelops the work of architect and craftsman, enclosing the interior designer, somewhere in the middle 1 also dabbled in commercial art and furniture design. I also won some competitions. When 1 thought I had learnt enough I began to look for work. That was in 1932, and it was not easy.” “When did you migrate to America?” “In 1940. My first job was that of waiter in a Brooklyn hotel. My wife was a chambermaid there. We lived in a timber house with the rest of the staff. It was not really a golden age. My first proper job was in a toy factory. I registered fifteen toy-patents, and that helped to pay the bills.” “How did the war influence your lives?” “We had to work under increasingly difficult conditions, until finally the toy-factory closed down. I began to scan the advertisements. One was placed by a furniture designing firm and by the time they interviewed me 1 was sure that they had already found their man, and that probably the only reason they saw the others was not to hurt their feelings. 1 even told the personnel officer that 1 was greatful for listening to me. When I outlined the story of my life to him in a few sentences and showed him some of my drawings, ho took me by the hand to an office a few more buildings away. He said to the owner: ‘This is your man, hire him.’ The proprietor of the firm spread out some blue prints to see if I could real them. When I told Interior of o synagogue Árpád Rosti at work A shopping center designed by Árpád Rosti most romantic. True, by that time it was no longer one of the toughest prisons in the United States. It was exciting to study the life of a penitentiary from the inside. I was teaching inmates who served the last months of their time and attended courses that, could help them in their re-sociali«ation.” “How long were yon employed at Sing-Sing?” “For four year's, until I turned (iK, but then I retired. That was when my wife and I decided to move to the Island of Hawaii. Our daughter also lived on this island until recently, and our son teaches at the University of Honolulu.” “How’s life now?” “Quiet. I even wrote a few plays to amuse myself. An amateur dramatic society has already staged one of them. JANOS BODNÁR PHOTOGRAPHS BY ÁRPÁD ROSTI AND THE AUTHOR "Vegetation" - a fountain in an American town him they were no good, he immediately employed me.” “What did you do when the war was over?” “We immediately started our own business. We began to make pottery. We had virtually no capital when we started, so we had to build even the furnace ourselves. I was the draughtsman, the designer, the manufacturer, the salesmen, a real Jack of all trades. And my wife was the apprentice. We did that for three years, then began to make various kinds of pottery lampshades. In the meatime I learnt all the tricks of glazing and that increased the range of the pieces of fine workmanship we were able to offer.” “Did you still live in New York at the time?” “No, we found a block of land about fifty miles North of New York, where we built a home and workshop.” “How did you get work of greater importance?” “Once a businessman, who lived in the neighbourhood came over to us and asked if I could design the fittings of the synagogue, that was being built in the next town. Well, I accepted the commission and quickly learnt what were the things a synagogue needed. That job brought the others in its wake, for it turned out that I stumbled upon a field, which had somehow escaped the attention of interior designers. The other point was that there was no firm capable of producing the objects it designed. The architects passed us from hand to hand, and soon I was also asked to design and produce fittings for Christian churches as well.” “Did you specialise in the interior design of places of worship?” “Not really. Later we received commissions to design and decorate shopping centres. One of the most interesting examples of that was a joint shopping centre of the Macy and Alexander department stores. I received the commission from the Alexander brothers, who are Hungarians as well. They are agile, progressive traders, who aimed at a bigger and faster turnover. They built scores of department stores all over the country.” “Did you get work everywhere in the United States?” “Mostly on the Faslern sea-board. The furthest city was Denver. I was 64, when I retired with my wife — who was the chief-accountant of our firm.” “And you moved to Hawaii then?” “Oh, no! We enjoyed the rest for a while, but then 1 just rlid not know what to do with my time. Once my wife came home and asked if I wanted to work in a prison. She had noticed an advertisement seeking an art master for prison inmates. Since I used to teach at university extension courses, I had some practice in this field, t answered the ad, and they hired me. That was how I found myself in Sing- Sing penitentiary — to teach.” “Were you not afraid?” “No. It was another adventure. I could choose amongst a number of penitentiaries. Sing-Sing seemed the
