art and terrorism: bosnian herzegovinian artwork post 9/11
Curator of the exhibition and author of text: mr. sc. Irfan Hošić
Gradska galerija Bihać (City Gallery Bihać) www.ggbihac.ba
02.07.2009 – 23.07.2009
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The Exhibition Art and Terrorism: Bosnian Herzegovinian artwork post 9/11 showcases some fifty works by thirty artists from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The exhibition hopes to show a connection between terrorism and the events of September 11th with Bosnian Herzegovinian art.
The author of the exhibition, Mr. Ifran Hošić, points out that the Sarajevo assassination, like many events which are deeply rooted in our history, is really factual coverage of the appointed thematic framework. And like a typical terrorist attack, the Sarajevo assassination gave us the right to observe Bosnian Herzegovinian artwork through a layered prism of terrorism. (Irfan Hošić).
The exhibition also offers a thesis that terrorist events since 9/11 have brought Bosnian Herzegovinian artists to a problem which favors, after years of non-existence of stylistic and thematic homogeny, a rehabilitation of the term Contemporary Bosnian Herzegovinian Fine Arts. The thematic framework appointed by the discourse on terrorism calls for responsibility in searching for a more precise definition of contemporary Bosnian Herzegovinian art.
The exhibition focuses on the work of Bosnian Herzegovinian artists who in some way or another directly analyze the terrorist events since September 11, terrorism in general, or similar topics such as assassination, insecurity, and identity, which are somehow related to events since September 11, and reaffirmed in the era of ''The War on Terror.'' So these works are characterized by a wide spectrum of different stylistic features, as well as for very homogenous thematic tendencies.
As most of these works have not yet undergone expert analysis, there is a need for an overall synthesis that would, at day's end, determine the position of Contemporary Bosnian Herzegovinian art by placing it in a wider artistic context. Interpretation of the gathered pieces will result in new understanding of contemporary Bosnian Herzegovinian art which is, in the context of a lack of serious theoretical analysis, a source of misunderstanding and ignorance.
A characteristic that supports the thesis of the uniqueness of contemporary Bosnian Herzegovinian art is the fact that some of the artists, due to specific situations in our country, have for years now lived in other communities, and are subject to the longterm and latent process of redefinition of personal identity.
Some have, because of the long years of war in their homeland, found new homes in the United States of America, Canada, Croatia, or some other European countries, so their gathering for the purposes of this exhibition will highlight a specific character of our contemporary art.
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