Arsen Roje (1937-2007) was an artist who was born in Split, Croatia. He studied briefly at the University of Fine Arts in Zagreb, Croatia. One of the first artists to engage in the Pop Art movement in Croatia, he moved to Paris in 1965, and relocated to New York City in 1968. In 1971, Roje moved to Los Angeles, where he gained recognition in the film industry and remained until his death.
His drawings and graphic works reference American popular culture, featuring motifs such as sports cars, revolvers, women’s lips, and bold typography. While he worked in abstraction from time to time, he regularly returned to figuration. He frequently used his body as a model, especially his hands.
His hand reportedly served as the model for the poster he created for the 1970 film M*A*S*H. It features a surreal humanoid figure—a hand makes a victory or peace “V,” with a military helmet resting on the forefinger, and the backs of a woman’s legs in high heels projecting from the wrist. He won the first of two Motion Picture Advertising Awards for that poster. The second came in 1977 for his poster for the film Casanova.