Ensio Tuppurainen
Kääpälä (1924-2014)
Pictures on the ceiling, walls, doors
Ensio Tuppurainen’s birth will be 100 years this year. Tuppurainen is known as a significant creator of ITE art. His passion for painting was visible in the walls, ceiling, doors and picture frames of the house. The subjects of the paintings were often traditional landscape pictures, but also humorous and opinionated protest paintings were prominently included. Tuppurainen also made a huge number of sculptures from different materials. Some of the sculptures were very opinionated, just like the signs that Ensio put up in his yard, which made it clear the artist’s opinion on the burning political issues of the day.
Dude finds Onnela
In the village of Kääpälä, located near the Vekaranjärvi garrison, you can find Jätkän Onnela. In this former store building, Ensio Tuppurainen started as a store manager in 1953. However, he decided to quit his job as a store manager in 1955 after having a disagreement to the shop inspector. In 1977, however, Tuppurainen ended up buying his former workplace, which has since been closed, for his family. Over the course of more than 30 years, the buildings and yard of this “Jätkän Onnelan” were filled with paintings, sculptures and protest signs until the artist fell asleep in 2014. The subject of Ensio Tuppurainen’s last painting was “Far Shore”.
If there is something, say it out loud
The subjects of Tuppurainen’s works varied widely, but most of the sculptures often featured a humorous or opinionated expression. Of the sculptures, Tuppurainen’s work “Vastuuupaa viranahoitaja” probably received the most attention. The penis erected by the guy in his yard rose to a height of two meters, and on the pedestal read the text “You polluters of water and air, rapists of forests, lovers of wars and racial violence, abusers of your office. Here is your monument to those who misled the citizens.” Tuppurainen had to be interrogated by the police because of the piece in question, where he stated: “I can’t anticipate people’s vivid imaginations when making statues. And this “Tulppaani” in question does not physically abuse anyone”
Jätkän Onnela
Even though Ensio Tuppurainen was very quick to express his opinions and say things out loud that others were silent about, his home was always open to people who wanted to come and see art or just come to chat.
Today, this tradition is maintained by the village association of the Kääpälä region and the Ensio Tuppurainen estate, which is responsible for the maintenance of Jätkä Onnela. You can visit the place at any time, but you should always check the opening hours of the paintings house in advance on Jätkän Onnela’s website.
Jätkän Onnela
The works of the exhibition
A politician's speech
The artwork “Politician’s speech” in Middle art park and the political posters accompanying it are Tuppurainen’s old signs. It is evident from them that the flamboyant and opinionated artist has his own way of expressing his opinion. Tuppurainen didn’t shout his opinions from behind a nickname in the newspaper’s “reader’s columns” but said things quite loudly in his own way.
