Ralph Steadman's present

Yesterday the postman brought me a present. It came from England in a big tube with original art sent to me by Ralph Steadman. It is very important to know that this art is a gift from him; it is not stolen.

'For those of you who aren’t familiar with Ralph Steadman’s art, he is an English artist known for his long artistic partnership with Hunter S. Thompson, drawing pictures for several of his articles and books. He accompanied Thompson to the Kentucky Derby for an article for the magazine Scanlan's, to the Honolulu Marathon for the magazine Running, and illustrated both Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72. Steadman has expressed regret at selling the original illustrations for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas at the advice of his agent to Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner for the sum of $75, a fraction of their later value. As a result of that transaction Steadman has largely refused to sell any of his original artwork and has been quoted as saying "If anyone owns a Steadman original, it's stolen." While there are original pieces held outside of his archive, they are exceedingly rare. The artist has kept possession of the vast bulk of his original artwork.'

For many years, I have admired his energy, sarcasm, and wit that shows through his art. A few years ago, we became email-pals, and I asked him to create a Tolerance Poster for me, which he did. And now, this. 

 

I am quite excited and I hope that this art does not give me high blood pressure.

 

 

"Punisher War Zone" by Joe Kubert

I recently acquired this page from the comic Punisher War Zone by Joe Kubert from 1994. I love Joe's work, especially beacuse, at first glance, his drawings look loose, sometimes almost unfinished (check out the detail of the shoe) because of how much he pays attention to details. I almost exclusively bought this particular page because of one detail that one does not notice immediately, especially in this black-and-white copy of the comic. It may look different in the color version, which I have never seen. The detail that fascinates me is how the door opened by the policemen pushed the debris in its way. 

One needs to be brilliant and logical to think of that.

 

Lecture "Symbols of Hate"

As a part of the celebration of the Day for Tolerance (November 16th), Europe House in Sarajevo organized a Tolerance Poster Show and invited me to give an online lecture "Symbols of Hate" on Wednesday, November 15th. The purpose of the lecture is to educate the audience about old and new symbols of hate used by different groups of Neo-Nazis, racists, and other bigots.

 

You can read more here about the Tolerance Poster Show and lecture in Sarajevo here.

 

 

 

Interview in Hungarian Kreativ Magazine

I am happy to share a link to my interview for Kreativ, the leading advertising and agency magazine in Hungary.

'Mirko Ilić, a Bosnian graphic designer living in America, recently visited Hungary, where he was appointed an honorary professor at the Moholy-Nagy University of Arts (MOME). We talked about how he was immediately hired by Time Magazine and the New York Times, why he didn't call out Lou Reed while buying carrots, how he became friends with Jean Mœbius Giraud, and why he thinks posters of acceptance are being vandalized in both the East and the West. We met a kind and open person with exciting stories to tell, but who still doesn't take himself too seriously.

 

Honorary University Professor Title from MOME

On Monday, October 9th, 2023, I had the great privilege of receiving an honorary university professor title from Rector József Fülöp from MOME, Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, in Budapest.

The same week I held a five-day workshop for students of MOME and as a part of Budapest Design Week, I held a Masterclass at the university titled Designer between Recognition and Purpose.

 

I am grateful to MOME for bestowing this honor upon me.