Anur Hadžiomerspahić (2 June 1971 – 29 November 2017), also known as Anur, was an artist and graphic designer from

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

. He was notable for being the first Bosnian artist to show their work in the central pavilion at the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

Early life and education

Anur was born in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...

, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina,

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...

. He studied graphic design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Sarajevo and graduated from the Accademia di Belle Arti Brera and

Istituto Europeo di Design The Istituto Europeo di Design (IED) is a private design school in Italy founded in 1966 by Francesco Morelli. The school is organized into four disciplines: Design, Fashion, Visual Communication and Management. It is spread over nine cities ...

in Milan.

Career

In the months immediately preceding the

siege of Sarajevo The Siege of Sarajevo ( sh, Opsada Sarajeva) was a prolonged blockade of Sarajevo, the capital of Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, during the Bosnian War. After it was initially besieged by the forces of the Yugoslav ...

, Anur co-founded (together with Juriša Boras, Almir Kurt,

Damir Nikšić Damir Nikšić (born 6 December 1970) is a Bosnian conceptual artist, standup comedian, blogger and politician. One of his best known art works is a seven-minute-long video entitled "If I wasn't muslim" (2005). Since 2022, Nikšić has been a me ...

and Nebojša Šerić Shoba) the rhythm and blues band Sing Sing. The band grew into a multidisciplinary art collective, bringing together elements of musical theatre, political activism and ironic humour. In 1993, Anur joined the

Ars Aevi Ars Aevi is a museum of contemporary art in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was established during the siege of Sarajevo as a cultural resistance movement to the Bosnian war. It holds a collection of 1,600 pieces, including approximately 13 ...

project as its co-founder and subsequent art director. He participated in forming the collection for the Ars Aevi Museum of Contemporary Art in Sarajevo and organization of exhibitions by Michelangelo Pistoletto, Jannis Kounellis,

Daniel Buren Daniel Buren (born 25 March 1938, in Boulogne-Billancourt) is a French conceptual artist, painter, and sculptor. He has won numerous awards including the Golden Lion for best pavilion at the Venice Biennale (1986), the International Award for ...

, Joseph Kosuth. As a student at the Accademia di Belle Arti Brera and Istituto Europeo di Design in Milan, Anur began producing a series of posters entitled Human Condition: Public Shouting and Individual Revolutions. Human Condition is characteristic of his chosen mode of artistic expression that he calls Artvertising: he uses the medium of advertising to send socially relevant messages. The posters have been exhibited in public spaces, shopping centres and supermarkets across Bosnia and Herzegovina and Italy since 1996. In 2001, Harald Szeemann included Anur's Human Condition project in the central exhibition of the

49th Venice Biennale The 49th Venice Biennale, held in 2001, was an exhibition of international contemporary art, with 65 participating nations. The Venice Biennale takes place biennially in Venice, Italy. Prizewinners of the 49th Biennale included: Richard Serra a ...

. In 1998, Anur initiated the Made in Bosnia project. The project aims to represent and promote Bosnian-Herzegovinian culture through the language of graphic design and advertising campaigns. In 2000, Anur founded the Cardea Creative Centre. For his work with Cardea, he was a finalist for the Epica Award in 1998 and 2000, and winner of the Epica Award in 2001. In 2002, Cardea was renamed Ideologija. Ideologija has worked with large Bosnian-Herzegovinian business companies and has been present on the Bosnian-Herzegovinian cultural scene with campaigns for Ars Aevi, Jazz Fest Sarajevo, SARTR, Letu štuke,

Zabranjeno Pušenje Zabranjeno pušenje () is a Bosnian rock band formed in Sarajevo in 1980. The group's musical style primarily consists of a distinctive garage rock sound with folk influences, often featuring innovative production and complex storytelling. Curre ...

Dino Merlin Edin Dervišhalidović (; born 12 September 1962), known professionally as Dino Merlin (), is a Bosnian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. Born in Sarajevo, he was the founder and leader of Merlin, which eventually became one of ...

Edo Maajka Edin Osmić (born 22 December 1978), better known by his stage name Edo Maajka, is a Bosnian rapper, record producer and songwriter. His popularity brought his group Disciplinska Komisija to the mainstream. He lives in Zagreb, Croatia, with his w ...

, and Amira Medunjanin.

Prizes and awards

Anur has received numerous awards for design and advertising, including Advertainment in Milan (2000) and the Epica Award in Paris (2001).

References

External links

* fficial Site
Ideologija advertising agency
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hadziomerspahic, Anur 1971 births 2017 deaths Contemporary artists Bosnia and Herzegovina artists Burials at Bare Cemetery, Sarajevo

Early life and education

Career

Prizes and awards

References

Further reading

External links