TJFK is simply the designer’s initials: Tomasz Józef Franciszek Kuczma. Kuczma explains that his vast body of work is often difficult to define because he has developed a liking for niches in so many areas.
Together with fellow artist Marek Lachowicz, Kuczma has created a series of comics featuring Człowiek Paroovka (Sausage Man), Grand Banda (Grand Band — a gang of quick-witted grannies), and Gang Wąsaczy (The Moustachioed Gang). Their comics do not contain vulgar language and are styled on the American system of comic production in which — Kuczma explains — each stage of the process is overseen by a second person. “Idea development, drawing, inking and colouring are carried out by different people. This differs from the European system, where the artist and scriptwriter (i.e. the author) are usually done by the same person,” Kuczma tells culture.pl. Marek Lachowicz draws and inks the comic strips and then Tomasz Kuczma adds colour.
Kuczma’s love affair with comics began while he was studying economics. He used to draw during his least interesting lectures. A friend mentioned he had a brother (an accountant) who did exactly the same thing. This brother turned out to be Marek Lachowicz, whose work had been published in the now defunct Bar Mleczny (Milk Bar) magazine. “As it turned out, we had a similar sense of humour and were inspired by the same things. We both liked the work of Tadeusz Baranowski and the aesthetic qualities of cartoons on the Cartoon Network, such as ‘Dexter’s Laboratory’ and ‘Cow and Chicken’. And so we began working together,” says Kuczma.
The backdrop for Lachowicz and Kuczma’s comics is decidedly Polish. The Moustachioed Gang comprises a band of hairy-faced old men with a fascination for Polish rock and collecting tickets. They raid bus and train depots and attack passengers in their quest to obtain as many tickets as possible. In one episode, they invade a PKP train carrying only railwaymen and their privileged family members. For regular passengers, trains are too expensive and they have stopped using them; thus, nobody has any tickets. Yet again, Bogdan, Bohdan and Ryszard come away empty-handed.
Grand Band is about a couple of dangerous old ladies, Kazia and Mirka, who have taken up violence and larceny. They usually use their ill-gotten gains for surprising ends. They steal anti-wrinkle cream in order to turn raisins back into grapes, and they pilfer cellulose wadding from a hospital in order to grow cress.
And then we have Sausage Man, a Polish parody of American superheroes. “Marek began drawing Sausage Man when he attended boring lectures. But over time Sausage Man stopped pretending to be a superhero and began to assume his own character. He simply likes to help,” says Kuczma. In addition to his comic book work, Tomasz Kuczma is also a member of the Radical Dancefloor Killers team, and organises club parties with live visualizations and video mapping (i.e. projecting two-dimensional images onto 3D objects). “I see video as an instrument: I modify live a sample recorder earlier to show what is really happening in the music,” the artist explains. Kuczma has displayed his VJ skills at a number of venues, including the Open’er Festival in 2013. He is also co-founder of the RDKillers Records label, which publishes and promotes the most promising artists in the Polish underground electronic scene.
Kuczma honed his musical and artistic talents while working for advertising agencies. He has created music for a number of advertisements, including Gilette, Microsoft and Knorr. He also composed the music for the award-winning PCK campaign entitled “Life is not Facebook” for Saatchi & Saatchi Poland.
In 2010, Tomasz Kuczma accepted the role of Art Director at the Festival Office for the Chopin Year. He was responsible for trademark designs, publication design, typography, advertising materials, drawing up a marketing strategy, and maintaining a general visual cohesion for the event. For the Chopin Year celebrations, Kuczma created the Etiuda LC typeface, inspired by the drawings in Chopin’s manuscripts.
Kuczma currently works for White Cat Studio, where he is responsible for developing corporate identity systems for clients including PKO Bank Polski and Netia. He also produces graphic designs for printed matter and packaging.
Artist’s website: http://www.tjfk.pl/ (in English)
Exhibitions
Polish comic art — Stories in bubbles, Levinsky College of Education, Tel Aviv
Wspólnik, Fort Sokolnickiego (Prochownia Południowa), Warsaw
Overdesigned?, Łódź Design Festival, Łódź
Komiks w Awangardzie (Comics at the Forefront), BWA Wrocław — Gallery of Modern Art, Wrocław
Publications
Grand Banda (e-book)
Text and illustrations: Marek Lachowicz
Colourist: Tomasz Kuczma
CDP, 2013
Człowiek Paroovka: Gorące Głowy (Sausage Man: Hotheads)
Text and illustrations: Marek Lachowicz
Colourist: Tomasz Kuczma
Kultura Gniewu, 2012
Człowiek Paroovka: Dorysuj mu wąsy (Sausage Man: Add a moustache)
Text and illustrations: Marek Lachowicz
Colourist: Tomasz Kuczma
Kultura Gniewu, 2007
Człowiek Paroovka vs. Grand Banda (Sausage Man vs. Grand Band)
Text and illustrations: Marek Lachowicz
Colourist: Tomasz Kuczma
Kultura Gniewu 2006
Awards
KTR 2012
PCK : Życie to nie Facebook (PCK: Life is not Facebook)
(Campaign: gold award; Social Media Advertisement: silver award; Active Advertisement: silver award; Viral marketing: bronze award)
Agency: Saatchi&Saatchi Poland
Music: Tomasz Kuczma
Międzynarodowy Festiwal Komiksu w Łodzi 2004 (The International Comic Festival, Łódź)
“Grand Banda” (Grand Band)
Second place.
Text and illustrations: Marek Lachowicz
Colourist: Tomasz Kuczma
White Cat Studio:
KTR 2012
Netia Corporate Identity
(Corporate Identity Design: silver award)
Concept/design director: Michał Łojewski
Graphic artists: Mariusz Lewczyk, Marcin Kuczyński, Tomasz Kuczma
ED Awards 2012
Netia Corporate Identity
(Logo: silver award; Implementation: bronze award)
Concept/design director: Michał Łojewski
Graphic artists: Mariusz Lewczyk, Marcin Kuczyński, Tomasz Kuczma
Red Dot Award, Communication Design 2011
Netia Corporate Identity
Concept/design director: Michał Łojewski
Graphic artists: Mariusz Lewczyk, Marcin Kuczyński, Tomasz Kuczma
Author: Katarzyna Zacharska, September 2013
English translation: Garry Malloy