Müller, Otto Martin
Otto Martin Müller (March 16, 1913 - November 30, 2002) was a Swiss artist and graphic designer. Müller was born and grew up in Zurich, Switzerland. He apprenticed as a lithographer from 1928 to 1929. Afterwards he matriculated at the Art Institut Orell Füssli where he was exposed to German Expressionism and the Bauhaus Dessau. Müller started working as a freelance graphic designer in Zurich in 1934, and in 1937 he received commissions from the Swiss Traffic Center. Among these works was a pictorial map of Switzerland, which was published in 1941. This map was his first major success. Afterwards, he designed several other pictorial maps of Zurich, Graubündchen, and Ticino. He also created title pages and illustrations for books. His most well-known piece is his 'Cheese Map of Switzerland' issued for the Schweizer Käseunion, published in various editions from 1967 to 1994. Müller died in Affoltern am Albis on November 30, 2002.
Swiss Cheese Mafia!
A celebrated 1978 Otto M. Müller pictorial propaganda map of Switzerland illustrating cheese production. The map was issued by the despotic Schweizer Käseunion (Swiss Cheese Union), a corrupt cartel intent on limiting and controlling Swiss cheese production. It promotes the 14 cheeses supported by the SCU, among them reblochon, raclette, gruyere, Emmental, and Tilsiter - ignoring the thousands of other cheeses the union disowned. This map and other propaganda efforts are responsible for transforming fondu and raclette into national dishes and marginalizing Switzerland's centuries-old cheesemaking traditions. (more details)