Helena Klakočar (born 1958) is a Croatian artist alternative cartoonist known for her autobiographical, social, and political observations.

Life and work

Helena Klakočar was born in

Tuzla Tuzla (, ) is the third-largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the administrative center of Tuzla Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 110,979 inhabitants. Tuzla is the economic, cultural, e ...

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 ...

, into an ethnic

Croat The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, Ge ...

family. When she was seven years old her family moved to Maribor,

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

, where she attended primary and grammar school. She studied graphic art at the Art Academy in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

, Croatia and became successful as a comics author, designer of posters and animation films. In summer 1991 she went on a sailing holiday with her husband and two-year-old daughter. Their return from

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

was prolonged because of the outburst of the war in Former Yugoslavia. On a small catamaran during the winter she was capturing daily life and memories of her homeland in drawings and text, depicted in her award-winning graphic novel "Restless Sea 1" (in French "Passage en douce") which is translated into several languages. She received a grant by Fonds BKVB,

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

, and later from Centre de la livre,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, to continue with this story.

Bibliography

Comics

* 2020 book ''REVOLT'' published by Vedis, Zagreb * 2019 ;Publishing house VEDIS from Zagreb published her book ''WALL MEDITERRANEAN'', graphic reportage based on the interviews with the crew of the Croatian search and rescuing boat BŠ-72 Andrija Mohorovičić who was involved in the operation Triton (Frontex) * graphic novel "Friesland (Restless Sea 2), 2009, Fabrika knjiga, Belgrade, Serbia, * "Groote Reis", 2003, Aristej, Maribor, Slovenia * graphic novel "Passage en Douce (Restless Sea 1)", 1999, Freon, Bruxelles, Belgium (2000 - Prix Alph-Art du Meilleur Album Étranger for graphic novel ''Passage en douce'', Festival d'Angoulême, France)

Films

* "Dance, Monster, on my gentle melody” with group Zzot, Zagreb, 1985 (awarded in Belgrade, 1986) * "Tai Chi" (with M. Manojlovic), Zagreb film studio, Zagreb, 1989 * "What happened with my friends", animation part in the P.de Pierpont film, Bruxelles, Belgium (film received many international awards).

Animated Films

* Propagand film for the Gallery SC, 1990/91, 4x 30 sec * Realization of the ZZOTROPHE machine on the enlarged scale (5x5 m) for exhibition of the art groups in Marseilles, France, 1989.

Awards

* 2019 - project resident at Cite International des arts, Paris * 2016 - project resident at RECOLLETS Paris , City of Paris and Instituit Francais * 2000 - Prix Alph-Art du Meilleur Album Étranger for graphic novel ''Passage en douce'', Festival d'Angoulême, France * 2000 - Prix du Radio Info, for ''Passage en douce'', France * 2000 - "1st award for illustration", Stichting Tussen Hemel en Aarde, Netherland * 2000 - Stipendium Centre de la Livre, Paris, France * 2001 - Work stipendium Fonds voor Kunst en Arhitektur, Amsterdam, Netherland * 2002 - "The picture which was never taken”, Helsinki, Finland, lecture on symposia about graphic novells. * 2003 - Guest artist Academia Solitude, Stuttgart, Germany.

Notes

External links

*
Entry
about Helena Klakocar in Duch Encyclopedia of Comics
Presentation
for "City of Women" Festival

Interviews

Interview
in

Delo ''Delo'' (russian: Дело) is a business oriented online media in Ukraine, belonging to ekonomika+ media holding. ''Delo'' was the first daily in Ukraine, publishing its real print circulation (13.000 - 15.000) and trying to introduce Western e ...

's publication
Interview
in Dnevnik's publication {{DEFAULTSORT:Klakocar, Helena Alternative cartoonists 1958 births Living people Bosnia and Herzegovina women artists Bosnia and Herzegovina artists 20th-century Bosnia and Herzegovina artists 21st-century Bosnia and Herzegovina artists