Tapani Olavi Aartomaa (7 May 1934 – 27 October 2009) was a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

graphic designer A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography, or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, ...

, who received much attention in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. Aartomaa operated his own graphic design studio and lectured for years at the Institute of Design in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

and

Lahti Institute of Design LAB Institute of Design and Fine Arts () is a faculty of LAB University of Applied Sciences in Finland, which is a large, multidisciplinary institution of higher education. The LAB Institute of Design and Fine Arts is one of the largest Finnish sch ...

. He designed several hundred posters and book illustrations and received national and international recognition, exhibiting notably in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

but also in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

and

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and the far eastern countries of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. In 1975, he was one of the acclaimed creators of the International Poster Biennale in Lahti.

Artistic style

Aartomaa, along with such peers as the artist Pekka Loiri have been described by a Polish art scholar and curator as "representing the next generation of Finnish artists whose works have contributed greatly to shaping the image of contemporary Finnish poster design. Their output includes numerous cultural, advertising, and public service posters produced using a variety of interesting graphic art techniques and characterized by a decisive, poetic use of color. ..In their posters I find all that I associate with Finland – a country unusual for its natural environment, architecture, and design." Aartomaa's artistic style is characterised by heavy use of

primary color A set (mathematics), set of primary colors or primary colours (see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences) consists of colorants or colored lights that can be mixed in varying amounts to produce a gamu ...

s often with an

ascetic Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...

composition and

typographic Typography is the art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable and appealing when displayed. The arrangement of type involves selecting typefaces, point sizes, line lengths, line-spacing ( leading), and ...

pictural form. Many of his works were inspired by natural elements which he used in compose abstract art. In the early 1960s he began producing book covers, and has been active in illustrating books throughout his career. In the 1970s, he was commissioned by the Lahti Museum of Design to create posters. His poster "Stop", dating back to the early 1970s is representative of his colorful poster art reflecting the environment and natural landscapes. Aatomaa had also collaborated with interior designer

Yrjö Kukkapuro Yrjö Kukkapuro (born 6 April 1933) is a Finland, Finnish interior architect and furniture designer. Education and academic career Kukkapuro studied design at the Institute of Industrial Arts in Helsinki in the late 1950s, qualifying as an interi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aartomaa, Tapani Finnish illustrators Finnish graphic designers 1934 births 2009 deaths LAB University of Applied Sciences