Mirko Ilić facts for kids
Mirko Ilić (born January 1, 1956) is a famous artist who creates comics and graphic designs. Graphic designers make visual art for things like magazines, websites, and advertisements. Ilić was born in Bosnia and Herzegovina but now lives and works in New York City.
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Early Life and Art in Yugoslavia
Mirko Ilić was born in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was part of a country called Yugoslavia at the time. He went to school and started his career in Zagreb, the capital city of Croatia.
After graduating from the School of Applied Arts, he began publishing his comics and drawings in 1973. His work appeared in popular magazines like Omladinski tjednik and Modra Lasta.
The New Square and a New Wave of Music
In 1976, Ilić became the art editor for a student magazine called Polet. He started a group of comic book creators called Novi kvadrat, which means The New Square. This group was a big part of a new music and art movement in Yugoslavia called Novi val (New Wave).
Ilić designed album covers for some of the most famous Yugoslav rock bands, including Bijelo dugme, Prljavo kazalište, and Azra. His cover for the first album by Prljavo kazalište became a famous symbol of punk rock in the region. He also designed posters for theaters and movies, including the well-known poster for the film Ko To Tamo Peva.
Starting an International Career
In 1977, Ilić's art started to get noticed outside of Yugoslavia. His comics were published in famous international magazines like Métal Hurlant and Marvel's Epic Illustrated.
By 1980, he decided to stop drawing comics to focus completely on illustration and graphic design. He began working for the Italian magazine Panorama in 1982.
Moving to America
In March 1986, Mirko Ilić moved to New York City. He quickly began creating illustrations for major American newspapers and magazines, including Time, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal.
His talent was recognized, and in 1991, he became an art director for Time International. An art director is in charge of the visual style and images. The next year, he became the art director for the opinion section of The New York Times.
Founding His Own Studio
In 1995, Ilić started his own company called Mirko Ilić Corp. The studio specializes in graphic design and computer graphics for things like movie titles. In 1998, he worked with the famous designer Milton Glaser to create the opening title sequence for the movie You've Got Mail.
His company also designs the look and feel for luxury hotels and restaurants. This includes creating logos, menus, and other visual details that give a place its unique style.
Teaching and Recognition
From 1999 to 2022, Ilić shared his knowledge as a professor at the School of Visual Arts in New York. In 2023, he was given an honorary professor title from the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design in Hungary.
Ilić's work is highly respected and can be found in the collections of world-famous museums.
- The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York has 38 of his artworks, including posters and album covers.
- The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., also has his work in its collection.
The Tolerance Project
Since 2017, Ilić has organized the Tolerance Traveling Poster Show. This is an art exhibition that travels around the world. It features posters about the importance of tolerance, created by top designers. The show has been displayed over 200 times in 50 different countries.
Personal life
Books on Graphic Design
Mirko Ilić has worked with other famous designers to write several books about graphic design.
With author Steven Heller, he wrote:
- Genius Moves: 100 Icons of Graphic Design
- Handwritten - expressive lettering in digital age
- Anatomy of Design
- Lettering Large: Art & Design of Monumental Typography
- Presenting Shakespeare: 1,100 Posters from Around the World
With the legendary designer Milton Glaser, he wrote:
- Design of Dissent
See also
- Yugoslav rock
- New wave music in Yugoslavia
- Punk rock in Yugoslavia
