Award in the Category of Painting Collegium Artisticum 2013

About Collegium Artisticum Exhibition

Collegium Artisticum Exhibition is an annual exhibition which started in 1975 when Sarajevo City Gallery Collegium Artisticum opened its doors for the first time. It can easily be described as Bosnian and Herzegovinian Salon for fine and applied arts, and architecture. More info about the gallery can be found on their web site.

The Sweet

It´s my first time exhibiting at Collegium Artisticum exhibition and all I wanted is to see my work displayed alongside with other Bosnian and Herzegovinian artists’ works. I didn´t compete. I don´t like to compete, I hate “Eyes on prize” mentality. I hate to compromise, to make my paintings more appealing.  I hate to be treated as sportsman; I hate to be judged, or to judge others. I hate to be in a position of a winner over loser. I just don´t want to see that in arts. It´s a consumerist world but I am not corporation. That’s why it´s sweet since I didn’t expect it nor did I wish for it. I accepted this award as a comment of our art community, saying – Keep up the good work. No more, no less.

The Sour

Collegium Artisticum exhibition used to be something cool. It carried some weight. Now it´s more like exhibitions by artists for artists, but then again, every exhibition nowadays is like that. Even an award is reduced to digitally printed Certificate on A4 300 gr paper. Like any other cultural event/institution incomprehensible for ordinary Bosnian, it´s marginalized, underappreciated and totally neglected by media, by the city and its people.  In a community where it is an increasing trend that depicting human form is seen as heresy and at the same time people are praying for the soul of soap opera hero, one shouldn´t ask for more. Well I do.

And the Flautist

As Branka Vujanović, an art historian and curator at the Collegium Artisticum described it “the process of interpreting media, art movements, epochs and cultures is explored by Muhamed Kafedžić, whose Poster Boy – The Young Samurai Flautist, clearly refers to The Flautist, by Eduard Manet, but at the same time maintains the peculiarity of the Ukiyo-e print transposed into an acrylic on canvas painting“.  It is neither finished nor ultimate, it is an ongoing process. And here, we are in front of it, we can accept it in this form or use it to re-visualize its original ancestor. We can do both or neither; there is no right or wrong way when it comes to the arts.

And in the end all I can do is to extend my thanks to the art community, even for considering me for this award.

Thank you.