Erzsi Lendvai

A poet of science: Ágoston Kollányi (1913–1988)

Poet of Clay, 1958
Poet of Clay, 1958

61 KByte

One of the most poetic creator of popular scientific documentaries and nature films was Ágoston Kollányi, who passed away ten years ago, on the tenth of May. He could line up, with his Kossuth-award, Artist of Merit, Artist of Excellence and a number of other government and art recognition, the love and high esteem of the audience as well. His work was characterised by far-reaching interest, immense amount of information and inspired beauty.

“A poet, as we know, is not becoming, a poet is born. In the case of Ágoston Kollányi's career – out of inevitable encounters of chance events. He graduated from the faculty of maths and physics at the university and subsequently studied theatre directing for a semester. However, the war put an end on his art studies. In 1946 he became advertisement film maker, making several hundreds of tiny ads, when he received an assignment to make a film on the structure of matter, based on a prefabricated script. In those days no nature science films in the contemporary sense of the word existed. Although following the liberation there were films made for the popularisation of scientific knowledge under the name "culture film", yet these can merely considered to be experiments at best, due to their didactic approach and primitive technical solutions. So Ágoston Kollányi, the ad maker, has made The Structure of Substance in 1950 which was entirely different and more than such films usually, he created unity in topic and images, his way of communication was a lot more expressive and effective than that of the culture film so far. By this first piece the poet of science was born. And also was born a new genre in this country – popular scientific film.” (Éva Bársony, Filmvilág (Film World) 1981/12.)

The successful beginning had a multilateral aftermath. Kollányi introduced the viewer into the kitchen of modern chemistry (Variations on Elements C and H), carried out physical experiments with music on oscilloscopes and dust patterns (Physics in F-major), sketched the starlit sky (My Hobby is The Starlit Sky), studied the life of fishes, just like that of wasps and spiders (Aquarium, Cradles, Silver Threads), presented the grandiosity of blacksmiths (Song About The Iron), recorded inspired moments of artistic creation in Margit Kovács's workshop (Poet of Clay), chartered centennial monuments of the Pannonian landscape, the situation of domestic libraries, artistic memories of medieval Hungary (2000 Years-Old Pécs, Open Doors, Fragment), showed us how the Tisza river blossomed, while roaming in the uniquely rich underwater realm of the Adrian shores, the corral reefs of the Maldives (Corral Country), monitored the behaviour of snake killer mongooses who have been transferred from India to the Dalmatian shore (Mongoose Island), just to pick out a few titles and topics of the many. Nevertheless, he filmed nature most passionately. He tried to discover the secret of existence both in his short and long nature films. After his charming and playful short film, Kati And The Wild Cat he set out to a more tiresome work. In Eternal Revival, made in 1964 he recorded the great moments of creation of life with hymnal strength, while he starred at the otherwise common, everyday phenomena of the living world from the perspective of the layman viewer in The Animals Answer). Kollányi did not only merged with nature as a scientifically curious, clever observer and discoverer. Noah's Arks, this film meditation shot in domestic scenery in 1982, steps out of protected territories into everyday life in order to protest against the devastation of our natural heritage.

Kollányi says in his own poetic way about this: “We have discovered, because we had to discover, nature's magical repertory stage. Interrogated nature with immeasurable joy, awe and pain. What motivates this bloody, exciting play for survival? Every tiny touch of a vibration was observed thousand times and put on the scale inside us. What is why? Just as if we had composed on Babits' so subtle, yet so serious evening questions: »... walking in joy amidst all beauty / you are going to think cowardly: / what all this beauty is good for? / what use of the ditch, ebb-tide / and the clouds, these serene Danaids / and the Sun, this burning stone of Sisyphus? / or take the tiny blade of grass / why is it growing just to wither later? / why does it wither if it is going to grow again?«“ The secret of his influence was this poetic touch associated with credible scientific knowledge.

Poet of Clay, 1958
Poet of Clay, 1958
Kovács Margit

65 KByte
Predator Plants, 1959
Predator Plants, 1959

99 KByte
Zoo's Dreaming, 1985
Zoo's Dreaming, 1985

59 KByte
Zoo's Dreaming, 1985
Zoo's Dreaming, 1985

85 KByte
Noah's Arks, 1982
Noah's Arks, 1982

85 KByte

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