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Kaamos When I first started this webzine, one of my intentions was to stray from the ordinary "only music" related pattern and present art from more than just one medium. This idea led me to establish The Art Section, the attic of Ortus Obscurum were you will get the opportunity to study and read about art from talented artists from all around the world. For this first issue, I humbly present an interview with Jarno Lathi of Kaamos, A Finnish artist who focus on art of a digital nature. He's been active for nearly three years now and quite a number of interesting pictures have escaped from his head and been digitalized. For the future editions of this section, I'll be looking for other artists to feature so if you feel that you have something interesting to show me, then feel free to contact me. I doesn't necessarily have to be digital art. It could be photography, traditional painting, sculpturing or anything that attracts the open eye. Now on with show... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ECTONAUT: Would you please start by introducing yourself to the readers of Ortus Obscurum. Who are you really and what is Kaamos all about really? What have you done so far and what are you working on at the moment? JARNO: My name is Jarno Lahti born in May 19, 1976 and I am a digital artist and graphic designer from Finland. Kaamos is my art studio that I founded in summer 1999. I consider that kaamos is more hobby than a real job. Therefore I work as a graphic designer. Even artist need to get food on the table ECTONAUT: You have a quite impressive portfolio on your homepage I must say. For how long have you been doing this kind of digital art and for what purpose? Have you received any training at all in the past or are you completely self-thought? JARNO: Thanks. My first experience with computers was in 1997 when I started my studies. First I thought that computers were dreadful machines and I thought I'd never learn how to use them. In the beginning, it was of course hard but soon I discovered the huge possibilities that computers have and there was no turning back. What comes to digital art, I can say that I am totally self-taught. Though I have studied graphic design I can't say that I learned much there. Of course school gave me lots of possibilities but studies itself weren't so useful. Everything that I know today, I have learned in those long night hours when I was sitting with my computer. ECTONAUT: How have people reacted on what you are doing in Kaamos? Have you received many compliments on your works until this day? Any criticism? JARNO: Feedback has been very positive. I get lots of mail from people saying that my art has influenced them strongly and this kind of mail is really nice to get. Almost always people see different things in my art than I have meant. I believe that this is one of the biggest reasons why people like my art. They feel that images are somehow personal and therefore it is easy to identify to them. ECTONAUT: Kaamos is the Finnish word for a period of darkness when the sun never rise in the northern regions of your country. Why have you chosen this name for your project? Is darkness an essential ingredient in the art of Kaamos? JARNO: The name "kaamos" is not essential. When I first started to think about a name for my studio I called it "Twilight Dreams" but I dumped that quite soon. I wanted the name to be short and at some point I came up with "kaamos". The name sounded great and the domain "kaamos.com" was also available so I bought it. Now 2 and half years later I think that name "Kaamos" is the best name that I could use. Kaamos images are mainly dark and melancholic so you can say that darkness is somehow essential. Without dark atmosphere they wouldn't be Kaamos images. ECTONAUT: Years of pain, I won't take it anymore. So says the text on your latest image No more and on Buried dreams, there is a phrase saying: a life buried in dreams, I might as well die today. It seems to me like you often use rather depressive phrases like these on your works. What's the reason for this? JARNO: People have asked that question many times and I cant give any precise answer. The main reason why I use text is simple: I think that text is very good graphic element. An image is much more stronger when there is text included. My images are dark, so its natural to use depressive phrases. When I make a Kaamos image I first make the image ready and then I finish it with text and I try to think of a text which is somehow related to the image. JARNO: I don't think that modern world situation is very positive. There are wars and people treat eachother brutally. Also people seem to think only of themselves and their own wellfare. These things are the reason why the atmosphere is cold and depressing. I don't think that mankind can live in this way very long. If nothing changes the humans will face their fate. ECTONAUT: You have done a couple of images dealing with the 7 deadly sins but correct me if I'm wrong when I say that you still haven't portrayed them all yet. Is this a project which you are working on in these days? JARNO: Seven deadly sins is a series that I started some time ago. At the moment there are only two images (Lust and Wrath). When I came up with this idea I was planning it to be my schoolwork. Plans chanced and that project just paused. I will complete this deadly sins series in the future but it is not of top priority. It is possible that I will redo those images that are ready at the moment. ECTONAUT: How did you come up with this idea? What is your opinion on religion in general? JARNO: From the movie seven of course. That is a great movie. What comes to religion, I can't really say anything. I haven't made up my mind with that question. Basically I would like to believe in God but some part of me thinks that maybe there isn't any bigger force. However one thing is clear. I am NOT satanic. At times I hear that kind of opinions and I would like to clear those wrong thoughts. ECTONAUT: I would like to ask you about your influences. From where do you gain inspiration? JARNO: My biggest influence is music. I always listen to music and I think that it is main reason why I stated to do this kind of art. Also my art strongly reflects my feelings at that very moment. Of course feedback is important. Its great to know that there are many people how really love my art. I get mail all over the world and I think that it is amazing. People whom I have never seen or ever will see, unknown people find things which are important to them in my images. That is one unreal feeling. JARNO: Of course I know the name Giger but I have never really loved his work. My biggest influence is Derek Riggs. When I was child I admired his works and I still think that his Iron Maiden illustrations are the best ever. What comes to digital art I must say that Chad Michael Ward and Niklas Sundin are the best names in that genre. Both of them are really talented and I really love their work. ECTONAUT: How do you work when you create a Kaamos image? Do you prefer to let the idea come to you before you sit down and start to work with the image or do you rather prefer to play around with the computer and just let the image grow and grow without any real idea on how the final product will look? JARNO: Kaamos images are mainly born without any big efforts. Sometimes I got a of thought what the image should look like but almost always my plans change and the final image is not what I first wanted. Making Kaamos art is one way of relaxing. It is great to just let your thoughts wander and see what kind of form they will take. I mainly do this kind of art just for personal reasons but it is great to know that there is people who love my art. It gives me strength to carry on. ECTONAUT: What equipment do you use and how much time do you need to finish a Kaamos image? How much of what you create ends up on your homepage and how much is thrown away? JARNO: Kaamos images are made by computer. When I first started I usually used my paintings or drawings but I dumped that very soon. Nowadays I just use photos. This way the images become more lively. I cant say any exact time on how long it takes to make an image. Sometimes the image is ready really soon and in some cases months. I even got images that have been waiting for two years. For that reason one of the most difficult part is to make a decision when the image is ready. ECTONAUT: I read on your homepage that before you started doing digital art, you painted alot. Do you still paint or are you completely hooked on doing digital art in these days? Is there a chance that we will encounter an undigitalized painting on your homepage in the future or is Kaamos exclusively reserved for digital art? JARNO: I used to paint and draw a lot but I haven't done it for a long time. Computers have taken me for good. For this reason Kaamos will be digital in the future also. I really don't believe that I will return to traditional art. It just didn't give me as much satisfaction as digital art. ECTONAUT: So far, my only real contact with your works is from the galleries on your homepage. Will it be possible to obtain your stuff in printed format in the future? Have you ever thought of releasing a picture book with a selection of what you have done? JARNO: As a matter of fact I have been thinking about an art book for years and I am sure that I will publish my art book someday. At the moment me and some of my friends are the only people who have prints of the Kaamos images. I get lots of mail where people ask for prints and I have been thinking about that possibility also. How knows. ECTONAUT: Do you like to listen to music while you paint? If so, what kind of music do you find suitable to have in the background during your sessions? I've got the impression that you're an old hardrocker. Am I right? What music do you like really? JARNO: I listen to music when I do Kaamos images, as a matter of fact, I listen to music always. At this very moment there is Dee Snider shouting out loud "I WANNA ROCK!!!". But there is not any certain music which turns me into the right mood for creating Kaamos images. Anything that I just want to listen at that very moment is suitable. Yeah you can say that I'm an old hardrocker. I really love music that was made in 80´s. Everything started in 1984 when I bought Iron Maidens powerslave record. Then we listened to W.A.S.P and KISS and they are still one of the best bands ever. Other great names from that period are Saxon, Accept, Bon Jovi (Think what you want but I think that old Bon Jovi was great), DIO, Loudness, RATT, Mötley Crue, Quiet Riot etc. Other favourites are Manowar, Running Wild, Dark Tranquillity and In Flames. ECTONAUT: Have you ever been in contact with industrial and ambient music? If so, what is your opinion of this kind of music? JARNO: This kind of music is not very familiar to me so I can't give comment on that. ECTONAUT: I read on your homepage that your ultimate dream would be to create a cover for an Iron Maiden album. Why is making an Iron Maiden cover so special to you? Do you see any chance at all of realising this dream in future and do you feel that you could ever live up to the standard of the great Derek Riggs? JARNO: Of course it is a really far away dream but I believe that a man always should have dreams. This is my reverie because I simply love Iron Maiden. There is no better band and never will be. I also like a lot of Derek Riggs paintings. I remember how I used to spend lots of time just wondering over his magnificent paintings. I especially love the Killers, Life after Death and Somewhere in Time artworks. These Images were so powerful and there was a lot of small details. However I must point out that I think that Riggs strength is in traditional paintings and I believe that his computer art is weak and there is no power at all. When we talk about paintings I have to mention an artist that is almost as great as Riggs. Andreas Marshall is a really talented painter and his artwork for the Blind Guardian album Imaginations from the other side is one of the greatest artworks ever. ECTONAUT: Have you ever stumbled upon the works of fellow Finnish artist Juha Vuorma? He has done some work for various metal albums in the past and I think his art is truly magnificent. Have you ever seen his art? If so, what do you think of it? JARNO: I know is work. I think that is works are a little bit too depressing and dark. Maybe his style is not accurately what I like. He is however a really talented guy, I cant deny that. JARNO: I hope that I could get more music related works in the future. These jobs are always fun to do and it is also a great way to promote my art. I never learned to play any instrument and maybe this art thing is my way to take a part in a music industry, At the moment there is not any certain design work that I am doing but I am having discussions with one finnish label. ECTONAUT: Do you think you will ever be able to earn a living just by doing artwork in Kaamos? JARNO: I really hope so but honestly I don't see that it would be possible. Fees aren't that big and there isn't enough work to do so that income would be regular. Sad but true. My dream is of course to live out of art and jump away from the 9-5 rat race. Just to be a free artist and live my life just the way I want. JARNO: If everything goes like I want, in year 2012 I would earn my living from art. Also I hope that I will be able to do so good images that some new artist say that I have been his biggest influence. Then I can say that I have achieved something great. JARNO: Thank you and remember to visit my site at www.kaamos.com |
ECTONAUT: Many of your images seem to portray emotions and thoughts of an apocalyptic nature. For example in End of the World where the title speaks for itself and in It went all wrong where there's a phrase saying We are failing. What is you opinion on the human-beings of today really? Do you feel that mankind is near a certain grand finale in these days and that all hope is lost for human-kind?
ECTONAUT: Is there an artist or two that you think has influenced you more or less in the past? Personally, I see some similarities in your works to the works Giger (though your art isn't as pornographic as Giger's art). Are you influenced by Giger in any way?
ECTONAUT: You have done layout work for a couple of artists in the past, for example your country mates Wizzard for whom you created a homepage as well as a CD-sleeve. Is this something you could imagine doing more of in the future? Are you working on anything in these days that you would like to tell us about?
ECTONAUT: What's your final goal with Kaamos really and where do you see yourself in a decade if everything goes accordingly to your will?