Besim Spahic, Ph D.

The Academy of Fine Arts Sarajevo

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Bosnia-Herzegovina is a small country in the heart of the Balkans, for centuries it has been an intersection of various worlds, civilizations and centers. Three large monotheistic religions, having in mind Orthodox and Catholic Christianity, for centuries have been “glued” to the traditional Neo-Manihey-Catar-Bogumile tradition of autonomous pre-Turkey Church of Bosnia, which has been seen as heretic, by Eastern and Western Christianity.

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Very important ethno-factor are Sephard Jewish people, who came to Bosnia during Turkish period after Grenada Edict, as well as Ashkenazi, who came to Bosnia with Austrian-Hungarian Empire. Mixture of population, races and mental structure, a glorious beauty of landscapes, rich flora and fauna, good climate with mainly different four seasons, position close to Mediterranean, horizontal structured mountains, and being part of Panonia; all this, the same as in the neighboring countries, has been a good, colorful and rich base of all kinds of creativity:

A small country, which in the past ten years has been destroyed and exhausted by war, with population of some 3,5 million, has already given or been guest to three Nobel Prize winners (Andric in literature, Prelog in biochemistry and Ruzicka in physics), four Oscar winners (Carl Mulden-Mladen Sekulovic, Dusko Vukotic, Ervin Rustemagic and recently Danis Tanovic). Besides Tanovic, B&H has other talented directors: Kusturica, Kenovic, Filipovic, Matic, Krvavac etc… Among painters, world famous are Nevjestic, Popovic, Berber, Dimitrijevic, Mujezinovic and others; also world famous sculptor Ivan Mestrovic has his roots in B&H. Not to mention musical genius Goran Bregovic. Mirko Ilic, Dragan Stefanovic, Cedo Kostovic, Branko Bacanovic, Muris Camo are well known in the field of design, and lately Bojan Hadzihalilovic, Anur Hadziomerspahic, Amra Zulfikarpasic, Timur Makarevic are becoming famous as well.

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Recent war has put Bosnia-Herzegovina in the focus of international interest; we presented ourselves in the environment of dying, mutual exodus, genocide intentions of nationalistic concepts from neighboring environment, in which if not identical then at least similar population lives, population that has been brought into the disaster of triple inner war and auto-destruction, all because of historical reasons, various religious education, together with predomination of different interests of outside centers of religious, economic and political power.

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But, war and post-war unstructure and historical incompleteness, with permanent turbulent events, suffering, exodus and hopelessness, can be very good inspiration for all kinds of creations (that can be defines as “creative suffering”); that includes designers too.

In the last ten years creativity of B&H graphic designers has been mainly determinated by war. Some kind of call of dying people” has been created, based on their experience; creations sent messages to domestic and foreign public from B&H “war hell”. Hand-made unique postcards made by TRIO fascinated world public; they received an award from ICOGRADA in 1994.

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Among others, it is important to mention, in this sui generis sub-janre, “visual analyst” Asim Djelilovic, who graphically and very critically investigates deeper inner and out causes of B&H disaster (Project “After Paradise” 1995/98).

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The most important projects of this “creative suffering” are POSTCARD FROM SARAJEVO: MADE IN BOSNIA, done by the group of people with Anur Hadziomerspahic, Art Studio Cardea.

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Dayton Peace Agreement and the end of the war have put a challenge of searching in front of designers too (yet at the beginning of the third millennium?!); searching for new visual (vex logical and heraldic) identity of new B&H state, that is its two entities: Republica Srpska and Federation of B&H.

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There is still a domination of triple, nationally divergent impossibility to coordinate unique state signs (flag etc.); High Representative of International Community (Petrich) stops this by asking a group of designer under the lead of well known practical worker and pedagogue Mladen Kolobaric – Chief of Department of Graphic Design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Sarajevo.

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Challenges of searching for identical ontogenesis and redefining ethos and ethno identity of whole B&H population – as CITIZENS, have inspired also Amra Zulfikarpasic, and her graphical study of pre-Turkey letters Bosancica has been successful,

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This letters are unique by name and form, and they symbolize pre-Turkey (religious and ethnical) non-division of population of the Bosnian state/kingdom, population, which is, precedes of B&H Croats, Serbs and Bosniaks. They all called themselves “good Bosnians”.

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Using the same methodology (typographic studies) and on the same track, younger designer Aleksandra Knezevic looks and finds ways of reintegration of B&H into the European geographical and spiritual space, having in mind economic challenges, where graphic designers must respect challenges and imperatives of good quality signifying of economic subjects.

We should mention also young designer Miodrag Spasojevic, who goes one step further in modernity of his logos.

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But, FABRIKA (former TRIO), under the creative leading of Bojan Hadzihalilovic, is the Number 1 in B&H, by quantity and quality, in almost all forms of commercial graphic design of products and their mass-media presentation:

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High-quality marketing-management approach has been introduced in the filed of marketing of cultural events; FABRIKA is “to blame” for that as well,

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But also for the brilliant design of magazines, which follows the logic of humanity (FABRIKA is favorite in this field in ex-Yugoslavia),

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As well as humanitarian institutions and democratic actions.

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In spite of terrible start of B&H democracy, post-war period put even more challenges for graphic identification and promotion activities (except the state and other political subjects) of political parties. Although we cannot say that we have high and responsible level of creation and their results, the best results in pre-election posters creation have been achieved by Samir Plasto and Almir Kurt (posters of GDS-Citizens Democratic Party and LDS-Liberal Democratic Party). Unfortunately, some graphic designers still serve the interest of regressive nationalistic parties, trying to gain their sympathies.

As in most of ex real-socialistic states, cultural poster has its long tradition. There are many young and talented authors of the posters in the new time, but pioneer in this fields for some decades is Branko Bacanovic, who has shown his freshness in 2001. creating posters and catalogues for the play “Hamlet” in the National Theater of B&H.

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Polyvalent creator Alija Hafizovic-Haf ( painter, graphic designer, caricaturist, play writer, yournalist) works for few decades, who also works in the filed of graphical creation for cultural events, and having his “forever young spirit” he made few successful installations as well.

Mihajlo-Miso Atijas, mainly an architect, is also well known in the field of graphic visualization of cultural, sport and more complex events:

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As a succeeder of Sephard (Kabala-Sufi) tradition, he has deepness in his thoughts regarding Jewish people in Mostar, as well as in his thinking of how to create completely new man (x-man) and uncertain future of “human” mankind?!

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On the track of new European and world challenges is (again) Anur, who promotes his new enterprise (ISKRAEMECO), with great artistic form, he builds/gives it an image of “world famous” enterprise, with a sign of “artist of offer and business”. This is graphically and visually great project, with moto:”Man relies on man”, and slogan: “Count on me”; Anur and his team won the prize on last EPICA.

Asim Djelilovic, “designer-thinker” is on the track of looking for causes and consequences of uncertain future that “happens too fast”; he warns us on worldwide dimensions of Mid-East crisis,

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he is afraid of what will happen with the Planet Earth, which seems to be wounded and tired with its “disobeying children” – over 6 billion people who jeopardize themselves nd their Mother Earth.

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What to say in the end? B&H is a small part of wider environment of Europe and world, and conflicts of whole global community can be seen here as well. B&H future, in the world of absolute inter-dependence, really depends first of all on the help of International Community, and on the will of its population to include in civilized democratic world.

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It will still be a space of “hot-blooded” creators in all fields, in the field of design as well. But, there are new winds, world agencies are more present, such as Saatchi and Saatchi, McKenn Erickson and other, and besides Fabrika, Cardea, B Concept, and many other agencies in Sarajevo, there are more and more good quality domestic agencies and creative people in other regional centers of B&H.

Unfortunately, but that is the case with many other small countries and populations, our creators have to leave country in order to promote themselves. Government still deals with its own problems and incompetence, so the culture, creativity, art and design are not in their mind. If we had more support from this side, this short presentation of ours would be of more quality.

But, Europe and the world should count o quality B&H creative potentials and B&H design. We are on a good track to move from the faze of “creative suffering” to the faze of “creative creation of our own future” ??!

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