October 11, 2019 – With over 11,000 caricatures over 25 years Nik Titanik’s work has achieved iconic status in Croatia, but which are the artist’s personal top 5 caricatures of his career?
His biting political satire is equal to the quality of his artistic talent, and the caricatures of Nikola Plecko, aka Nik Titanik, have entertained the Croatian public for quarter of a century. Plecko’s work has long been recognised on the national level, and an exhibition at Mimara in Zagreb to celebrate the first 25 years of his work (and with more than 300 pieces on display) opened last month. It is a measure of the affection that Nik Titanik is held that the turnout was several times higher than anticipated for the opening night. You can read more about that here.
I asked Nik if he would have time to choose his top five works from that illustrious career, and to give us a little background to each, which he kindly agreed to. So below, the very best of Nik Titanik, through the eyes of Nik Titanik. Thank you, Sir, for what you do, and here’s to the next 25!
1. How Zagreb got its name
According to the legend, Zagreb got its name based on the story about a young maiden called Manda who went to the Manduševac well to collect water. Suddenly, a soldier came along, saw Manda and told her: “Zagrabi, Mando, zagrabi!” (Grab Manda, grab!) – meaning water for him to drink it.
In my version, Zagreb’s mayor Milan Bandić is a young maiden who collects water (money from citizens) into a jug (city budget)
2. In 2008, George W. Bush visited Croatia. There is a stereotype (is it just a stereotype?), that Americans know nothing about Croatia and Croatians. Therefore, George greets all of us by calling us Croissants instead of Croatians.
3. Heavy ideological topic.
Željka Markić’s organization and other conservative movements organize annually The Walk for Life, an anti-abortion demonstration walk across Zagreb’s streets.
Because she and her supporters deny the right of free choice, in my version, there is an altered slogan that says “The Walk for Interfering with Someone Else’s Life.”
4. At the beginning of the Nineties, Franjo Tuđman, our first president, had a patriotic slogan “We have got Croatia!”4. At the beginning of the Nineties, Franjo Tuđman, our first president, had a patriotic slogan “We have got Croatia!”
My version depicts a beggar who, during the economic crisis in the first half of the 2010s, is begging for money and on his banner is written: “We have only got Croatia.”
5. The famous Croatian painter Oton Iveković painted the picture called “The arrival of the Croats.”
My version is called “The departure of the Croats” across the border where… There are jobs…There are no ‘cajka’ (trash folk) music… There where is no important where someone was in 1941, 1945 or 1991 (reference to the Second World War and recent Homeland War that are often misused for political purposes).
The Nik Titanik exhibition at Mimara Zagreb is open until October 24 – more details on the event Facebook page.
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