Academic artist, illustrator, concept designer, and animator Emir Durmišević has dedicated his art in recent years to the cultural and historical heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina. All his works are the product of deep reflection, research of relevant literature in both museums and libraries, and consultation with experts in the areas that are the focus of his interest.
The local audience knows him as the illustrator and author of the book “Kings and Queens of Bosnia,” which is illustrated and written in a way that brings the interesting medieval history of Bosnia and Herzegovina closer to a younger audience, but also to older ones, in a different and fun way.
Emotional states
Emir has now also illustrated the popular ballad “Hasanaginica,” and he told for Visit BiH Magazine how he managed to create characters who are legends among the people.
“The realization of the “Hasanaginica” project by author professor Rusmir Mahmutćehajić was a special challenge, but also a motivation. An exceptional work of art, the ballad “Hasanaginica” required a strong, emotional approach to illustration, which certainly gave a special stamp to the project. The ballad is presented through 20 illustrations, printed in a wide format, on double-page spread. Through the illustrations, the visual narration of the ballad and the tragic fate of Hasanaginica are presented, with a special emphasis on the emotional states of the characters, presented to the audience through emphasized facial expressions, the dynamism of illustrated movements, and the visual strength of the composition. It is true that it was creatively challenging to conceive and ‘imagine’ the characters who appear in the ballad; the main character Hasanaginica, her children, the character of Hasan-aga, his mother and sister, Hasanaginica’s brother, the wedding guests, the qadi,” explained Durmišević.
In the creative process, he had the support of experts who study the ethnological heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was particularly useful for him when visualizing the characters’ costumes, old Bosnian architecture, the interior of a Bosnian house, traditional objects, especially the gifts that Hasanaginica gives to her children when passing by her former home with the wedding guests.
Promotion of heritage
“Of course, I also used references from museums, especially visual representations of costumes in the ethnological section of the National Museum in Sarajevo. The opera “Hasanaginica”, directed by Sulejman Kupusović, was also an inspiration. Furthermore, the film adaptation of the ballad, “Hasanaginica” directed by Aleksandar Jevđević, in which the legendary actress Nada Đurevska plays the role of Hasanaginica, was also an inspiration to me. As with other projects of a similar nature where the focus is on promoting cultural and historical heritage, and which I have realized earlier, I set aside a certain amount of time to research the time and historical period in which the ballad takes place, the costumes, customs, tradition, artifacts,” says Emir.
As he said, he visited museums, analyzed exhibits and displayed objects from the relevant period, and talked with experts before the actual realization of the illustrations.
“The same approach was applied to all characters; all steps of design and character visualization were respected as the profession dictates. What is particularly important is that precisely on the emotional expressions of the characters in the illustrations, special emphasis was placed on the personal, individual emotional experience of the scene I was illustrating. It seems to me that this is precisely the special strength of these illustrations,” concluded Durmišević.
