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Kari (Yrjänä) Suomalainen (1920-1998) - pseudonym Kari |
Finnish political cartoonist, artist, conservative, jester of the 'Finlandization' era, who captured in his pictures the essential in the plain man's way of thinking, when the élite of the nation was careful not to say anything politically inflammable about the Soviet Union. Kari Suomalainen ('Kari') drew some 7 500 cartoons for the leader page of Helsingin Sanomat in 40 years. [Two boys on a pavement] Kari Suomalainen was born in Helsinki into an artistic family.
His
father, Yrjö Suomalainen (1893-1964), was a violinist and music critic,
and mother Estelle (Wikström) Suomalainen a ballet dancer, whose father
was the sculptor Emil Wikström. In his childhood Suomalainen lived in
Wikström's studio home at Visavuori – the place became also later
his home. In 1990 Suomalainen opened his own museum at Visavuori.
Suomalainen's sister Saskia became an opera singer, performing under
the name Maaria Eira. She moved to Italy, where she studied under Toti
Dal Monte. Already
as a schoolboy Suomalainen started to draw
caricatures, not
very keen to continue his studies at a higher level, having already
decided to pursue an artistic career. Between 1936 and 1939 he
attended the Helsinki Academy of Art. Suomalainen emphasized in an
interview that one cannot become a top cartoonist without formal art
education. "A-luokan piirtäjäksi ei voi tulla, ellei ole tukeutunut
akateemiseen taidekoulutukseen. Liikkeelle on lähdettävä selkeästä
realismista tai naturalismista. . . . Jos pilapiirros on tehty hyvin,
maallikko ei huomaa taitoa, millä se on tehty, miten taiteilija on
ratkaissut valon ja varjostuksen vivateet, tasapainottanut
perspektiivit." (Kari Suomalinen,' in Parhaat pilapiirtäjämme by Olavi Järvi, Helsinki: Tammi, 1979, p. 129) During the
Continuation War Suomalainen served in the artillery and doubled as a propaganda
artist (1943-44) – his works from the front lines and scenes of
war were published in a book form in Sotakuvia (1963) and shown in expeditions. In 1942-44 Suomalainen produced the Western
strip series Henkensä kaupalla
(At risk of life). He married in 1943 Taju Sallinen, known
as the writer Irja Salla; her parents were the painters Tyko Sallinen and Helmi Vartiainen. The marriage ended within a couple of years. After the war Suomalainen worked as illustrator and
maker up for Mantere Oy in 1947-48, and contributed cartoons
for the magazines Seura, Viikkosanomat, published by Sanoma Osakeyhtiö, Arijoutsin Pippuri, edited by Heikki Marttilan alias Arijoutsi, and Tuulispää. The comic strip Välskärin kertomuksia
(The Surgeon´s Stories), drawn during the war years, and based on Zacharias Topelius's epic novel, came out in serialized form in the magazine Lukemista kaikille (1949-1950). In
1950 Suomalainen started to illustrate Arijoutsi's humorous
essays. Although he had claimed in 1954, that he hates women
and won't marry until he can treat his wife like a flower, he married
in 1955 Liisi (Lippe) Hokkanen; they had three children. "Goodbye, free
world!" Kari commented his wedding day in a cartoon. "Its not the
tolling of funeral bells, you fool!" says the bride. "They are our
wedding bells!" Later Lippe Suomalainen published three autobiographical books, Vuosi
Karin kanssa (1982), Harkittua utopiaa (1985), and Elämässä kiinni (2009),
on her
life with the genius cartoonist. It was not an easy marriage for her. Her books
reveal that Kari Suomalainen suffered from hypochondria. He was also
deeply neurotic, subject to fits of temper, and had problems with
alcohol. In addition, he developed sudden jerks during sleep. She had to move to a separate
bedroom. "Hänen tunne-elämänsä oli kokkareista eikä tajunnanvirta
soljunut tasaisena, vaan tukkeutui ja tulvi yli äyräitten. Alitajunta
ei suonut rauhaa unessakaan. Nukahdettuaan hän kohta alkoi piehtaroida,
urahdella ja viskellä raajojaan. Välttyäkseni mustalta silmältä meidän
oli siirrettävä sängyt erilleen ja lopulta muutimme eri huoneisiin." (Elämässä kiinni by Lippe Suomalainen, Helsingissä: Otava, 2009, p. 299) While traveling in the United States in 1960 with his wife, Suomalainen met the Washington Post editorial cartoonist Herbert L. Block and Vaughn Shoemaker of the New York Herald Tribune, and drew for Helsingin Sanomat the pictures of the actors Walter Pidgeon, Henry Fonda, and Lauren Bacall. "Not so bad," said Bacall's daughter of Kari's drawing. (Elämässä kiinni, p. 299) The journey continued from New York to California, where they spent an evening in Carmel with Jimmy Hatlo, creator of 'Little Iodine' – this comic strip was published in Finland in Apu magazine under the name 'Pipsa Pippuri'. Bourbon flowed freely and Hatlo was helped upstairs. Löysin lännen (I found West), Kari Suomalainen's account of his U.S. experiences, came out in 1960. Suomalainen's first collection of cartoons, Karin parhaat
(1953),
was followed by over 30 collections. In the 1970s, they sold at best 50 000
copies, making him one of the best-selling author's in
Finland. Most of Kari's editorial cartoons poked fun at politicians and
current events. Not all of them were specifically political in nature, or intended to be funny.
A day after the death of former President Paasikivi in 1956, Kari said
his farewell with a drawing, which shows a small rowing boat on a dark
river (=the River of Tuonela), Paasikivi
sits on the rear seat, with a cigar in his hand, a figure in a hooded
robe (=the Grim Reaper) is on the oars.
The subtitle reads: "Mies peräsimessä" (Man on the helm). The homage
was published on
December 15, 1956, in Helsingin Sanomat. (Hassu maailma: valittuja pilapiirroksia by Kari Suomalainen, Helsinki: Sanoma Osakeyhtiö, 1958, n.p.) Besides commenting daily news, Suomalainen produced a number of cartoons about family life, city dwellers, persons living in the country, especially in the imaginary village Rysänperä (Man's End), where Fred and Elma Shagbrake with their eleven kids had never heard of birth control. The first sign of spring in Rysänperä is when Grandpa Rake starts to chase women. An old veteran of war, Willian Gnarl, is still ready to go to the front. Like in the H. C. Andersen's story 'The Emperor's New Clothes' truth is revealed by the children – a boy says with a flower in his hand to his father on the Father's Day: "We would've bought you a present, too, but the cops cleaned out the sex shops." (Sorry, Sir!, 2nd ed. 1995, n.p.) Between December 1951 and June 1991 Suomalainen drew political
cartoon for Helsingin Sanomat,
Finland's largest newspaper. During these years the professional name
'Kari' become an institution, whose independent or politically
incorrect views arose much controversy. His ideas Suomalainen developed
many times in cooperation with Heikki Tikkanen, the editor-in-chief of
the newspaper, who provided him with inside information about political
machinations. When Finnish papers preferred not to take critical line towards the Soviet Union, the self-censorship did not touch Suomalainen. In one drawing from 1958 Kari pounced on the political hypocrisy of Nikita Khruschev, and the burden of the satellite states. Made after Ilya Repin's famous painting 'Volga Boatmen,' the cartoon was shown in an exhibition in England, but was not published in Finland until 1985. During the era of Finlandization, Kari criticized openly Finland's foreign policy and President Kekkonen in the 1960s and 1970s. Kekkonen, on the other hand, warned in a radio speech Finnish columnists and cartoonists of the danger of joking with the Soviet Union. But he also mentioned Kari in a positive way in his diary: Kekkonen gave Kari's drawing as a gift to Tage Erlander, the prime minister of Sweden. (Kirjeitä myllystäni. 1, 1956-1967 by Urho Kekkonen, Helsingissä: Otava, 1976, p. 302) Although politicians found his cartoons more or less embarrassing, they were read at breakfast tables throughout the land and discussed at work on coffee breaks. "Nauraminen ei ole sama kuin huumori. Esimerkiksi lokit kyllä nauravat mutta epäilen niiden huumorintajua." [Laughter is not the same as humour. For example seagulls laugh but I doubt their sense of humour.] (Kolmivarpainen sammakko: humoristin päiväkirja 1975 by Kari Suomalainen, Helsinki: Otava, 1976) Kari Suomalainen's healthy common sense and humour won him admirers from all political groups from left to right. His conservatism, the writer Väinö Linna once noted, was more philosophical than political. The original drawings were much sought-after as status symbols by politicians and other people whom he had portrayed. As a result of Suomalainen's status, his caricatures – especially about public figures – were a kind of starting point to other cartoonists. Kari
Suomalainen was not only interested in revealing the
personality of his models but also their social context. President
Kekkonen, his favorite politician, was portrayed first time in
1951. Kekkonen remained Kari Suomalainen's object of satire until the
1980s, in some 300 pictures. As Pharaos in the ancient Egyptian art,
Kekkonen was always presented much taller than others around
him – a striking comment in itself. Suomalainen's love-hate
relationshop with the President, who stayed in office for 25 years, was featured Muisto Urholle: Kekkos-kuvia 25 vuoden ajalta, värssyjä sieltä ja täältä (1974). The text was written by Jaakko Okker. Suomalainen's early caricatures show the influence of Giles
and
Albert Engström, but he soon found his own style. The drawings are
sketchy, the line is free and easy and the likeness in caricatures is
captured with a few spontaneous strokes. Instead of spending time in
meticulous portrait studies, Suomalainen aimed at stylized resemblance.
He distorted the characteristic features of his objects, used symbols,
added headlines from newspapers to clarify the idea, referred to famous
books or works of art. Thus Kekkonen has bald, sharp head, and round
spectacles, Kalevi Sorsa, the leader of the Social Democrats and a
prime minister, was a plump duck ('sorsa' means a duck) with a huge
tie, and President Mauno Koivisto was symbolized by his lock of hair.
Suomalainen's own alter ego was a short, round-nosed artist – Kari
himself was tall and lean – in black
clothes, who usually presented aphoristic statements from the bottom of
a soft
armchair or a sofa. Two furry persian cats accompanied him in the
1950s. They were the family's pet cats, named Möksö and Pieni. Because
of being overfed and undernourished at the same time, they lived only a couple of years. Relying on his popularity, Kari Suomalainen wrote two plays. Hirttämätön lurjus (1966), directed at the National Theatre by Edwin Laine, received hostile reviews. Suomalainen also designed the set and costumes. But Kalle-sedän jutut (1975), performed 105 times and seen by 32 590 playgoers, was a success. ('The most popular plays,' in Kulttuuritilasto = Kulturstatistik = Cultural statistics. Statistical information on arts, communication, leisure, sports and youth activities in 1930-1977, Helsinki: Tilastokeskus, 1981, p. 35) In the late 1980s and early 1990s Suomalainen's conservatism
and
opinions about human rights, nature preservation, civilian service,
women's rights, European integration and other issues were more and
more criticized by feminist, human right activists, politicians etc.
Only children and winos got his sympathy – as they had from the
1950s. After the fall of the Berlin wall, Suomalainen's conservatism
clashed more and more with the editorial line of Helsingin Sanomat. When
Suomalainen's cartoon about Somali refugees was not
accepted by his employer, he left his post in the paper as the
national truth-sayer, and
started
to publish his cartoons with great success in regional newspapers.
Although Kari's profile was now much lower, he still
had the confidence of his audience, representing with his views the
"man on the street." His final drawing, dated on June 25, 1999,
portrays Sauli Niinistö pushed by Gallup into precidential race: "I
don't want to be a president, no, no, no... PUSH HARDER! (Sarvia ja hampaita by Kari Suomalainen, edited by Lilli Earl, Helsingissä: Otava, 2003, p. 96) During his career Kari Suomalainen received a number of
awards,
including Reuben award from The National Cartoonist Society of USA
(1959), Salon International de la Caricature (1967), Suomen
kulttuurirahaston kunniapalkinto (1974), Aleksis Kiven seuran
Esko-mitali (1976), Suomen Kuvalehden journalistipalkinto (1982),
Suomen sarjakuvaseuran Puupäähattu (1984), Suomalaisuuden liiton
Suomalaisuuspalkinto (1987), Kalevala-seuran mitali (1998). In 1977 Kari Suomalainen
was appointed professor. Musically talented, he learned to play the bassoon and was a member of two orchestras. Kari Suomalainen died in sleep on August 10, 1998, at
Valkeakoski Hospital, where he had gone for a routine medical checkup. On his bedside tabe, he had Dorothy L. Sayers'
mystery novel Kuolema keskiyöllä
(=death at midnight in English; original title: Clouds of Witness). For further reading: Visavuori: kuvanveistäjä Emil Wikströmin koti ja ateljee: pilapiirtäjä Kari Suomalaisen Kari-paviljonki, teksti: Pälvi Myllylä; toimituskunta: Juha Myllylä, Pälvi Myllylä (2022); Wiikka & Kari : ...eli pieni kertomus Visavuoren taiteilijoista, taiteesta ja politiikasta by Pälvi Myllylä (2019); Elämässä kiinni by Lippe Suomalainen (2009); Kari - tasavallan hovinarri by Seppo Porvali (1999); Karin Suomi: Karin piirrokset suomalaisuuden kuvana by Marja Ylönen (1998); Römpän ukko elämän ja vanhuuden tulkkina by Tellervo Salminen (1992); 'Kari Suomalinen,' in Parhaat pilapiirtäjämme by Olavi Järvi (1979); Karin ääni, edited by Maarit Niiniluoto (1990); Ihmisen ääni - Kari Suomalainen, edited by Maarit Niiniluoto (1977); 'Kari ei ole salakari' by Väinö Linna, in Suomen Kuvalehti 9 (1974) Selected works:
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