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The Finnish Colour Association (Suomen väriyhdistys) celebrates International Colour Day, 21st March, by giving the Iris Award to lighting designer, scenographer Markku Uimonen for his outstanding career as a versatile visual designer and teacher in the field of the performing arts.
Markku Uimonen
AIC International Colour Association has proposed Spring Equinox (21st March) to be celebrated as International Colour Day (www.aic-colour.org). The purpose of the International Colour Day is to draw attention to colour as a phenomenon shared by all humanity and to highlight events and achievements in the field of colour. In addition The United Nations has declared 2015 International Year of Light (www.light2015.org).
Chamber opera “La Voix Humaine”, Savonlinna Opera Festival, 1993. Kaisa Hannula, soprano; Markus Lehtinen, conductor; Vilppu Kiljunen, director; Markku Uimonen, visual designer. Photo: Markku Uimonen.
Mr. Uimonen was educated in the Theatre Academy of Finland (Now part of the University of the Arts Helsinki), the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, and MIT Center for Advanced Visual Studies in Massachusetts, USA.
Markku Uimonen has designed visuals for over 60 large-scale productions for e.g. the Finnish National Opera, Operá du Rhin Strasbourg, Opera di Cosenza, Savonlinna Opera Festival, and most of the major theatres in Finland. In Sweden he has designed in the mid 90’s sets, lighting, and projections for the Gothenburg Folk Theatre and Riksteatern in Stockholm. In Hong Kong he has designed sets, projections and lighting in several venues, most notably the Lyric Theatre at the Hong Kong Adacemy for Performing Arts HKAPA, where he has served as a visiting professor and Artist-in-Residence several times since 2002, latest being the spring semester 2013. Markku Uimonen was artistic director of the LUX Helsinki Light Art Festival 2011–2014
Other artistic work ranges from conceptual light art to contemporary theatre and from exhibition lighting (e.g Hannover Expo pavilion 2000) to numerous Contemporary Dance visualizations.
“4000V-Shadow of Light”. Acrylic, charcoal and neon light on canvas, 2014. Re-production of work exhibited at the Retretti Art Centre, 1995. Photo: Markku Uimonen.
Markku Uimonen’s contribution to teaching design in the performing arts is profound and extensive. He worked as lecturer in scenography at the University of Art and Design Helsinki (now Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture) during 1997–99 and as professor of lighting design at the Theatre Academy of Finland from 2000 until the end of last year. He has also led numerous international lighting workshops, and has given talks in seminars and conferences in Sweden, France, USA, China, Japan and Russia.
The Finnish Colour Association’s Iris Award (Suomen väriyhdistyksen Iiris -palkinto) can be given to work or deed involving colour that has noticeably improved aesthetic appreciation, functionality or safety in people’s environment and daily life. The work can involve fine art, design, architecture or environmental design or for example colour technologies such as the printing industry.
