Endi Poskovic was a Fulbright Scholar to Poland in 2016. Prof. Poskovic was invited back on the occasion of Fulbright’s 60th Anniversary celebrations taking place this year. In his presentation, Prof. Poskovic guided students through a journey of self-discovery and inspiration. By talking about his background and the art he creates, Endi Poskovic really brought home the importance of crossing boarders literally, and intellectually. He underlined how ideas and perceptions can evolve and change if we just open ourselves to having conversations and discussions with others. Prof. Poskovic encouraged this kind of exchange during his talk by engaging his audience into voicing their thoughts and feelings about the different works of art he was showing in his presentation. He explained, that at the university where he teaches, University of Michigan, not only art students attend his classes but also students studying engineering, English literature, biologists and other. Thanks to such “crossing” of disciplines, students and professors learn and inspire each other. For example, Prof. Poskovic showed an art piece created by a biologist that consisted of feathers and, the audience agreed, that it was shaped like a bird’s wing. Prof. Poskovic added, that it is only one wing that may suggest that, “the bird is injured” said one student and “can’t fly,” said another. As he led his audience through the evolution of his art work, Prof. Poskovic showed one of his more recent pieces, near the end of his presentation, and it was a variation on the single feathered wing called Hrabreni (O my son, beloved and chosen) – a woodcut printed in 18-colors from 6 interchangeable plates on Haini Kozo, unique image. Produced in collaboration with WORKSHOP Laser & Fab in Krakow applied in woodcut printing (https://endiposkovic.tumblr.com/).
Throughout his presentation, Prof. Poskovic spoke about the liberating feeling that comes with doing something one loves. In his case, of course, this is woodcut printmaking which entails many hours of hard manual labor. Prof. Poskovic also demonstrated how his origins, life experiences and reflections influence his creative process. Endi Poskovic was born in what was once a united country called Yugoslavia, in the city of Sarajevo which is now the capital of Bosnia. Sarajevo was once the only European city with an equal number of Muslims, Jews and Christians who lived together in peace. He had to leave Yugoslavia as a student and continued his studies in Norway (when he learned that there was a student in the audience from Norway, he exchanged a couple of words with her in Norwegian). Later he immigrated to the US where he advanced his artistic career, step by step. Endi Poskovic has since travelled the world and spent a significant time in China. His art can be viewed around the globe, at the Philadelphia Print Center, SUNY-Fredonia Rockefeller Arts Center, Frans Masereel Centrum in Belgium, Tidaholm Konstlitografiska Museet, Sweden, and Changsha Yu Xiang Cultural & Art Center in China, to name just a few.
Although Prof. Poskovic’s expertise departed far from the medical lectures his audience was used to, he genuinely engaged every listener in the auditorium. Prof. Poskovic made each student feel valuable and unique, and with the potential to achieve great things in life. He ended expressing his hope to cross paths with the students sometime later in their career.
Fot. Wanda Widomska
Department of Medical Photography MUW
