Friends and colleagues said goodbye today at the commemoration of the recently deceased prominent caricaturist Predrag Koraksić Koraks, describing him as a brave “guardian of sanity” in Serbia
The president of the Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia, Željko Bodrožić, pointed out that Koraksic and his caricatures are timeless, recalling that he was also a great fighter against fascism.
Chief and responsible editor of Danas Dragoljub Petrovic he said that Korax was and will remain a symbol of Danas, as well as that, in agreement with the family, that newspaper will continue to publish his caricatures on the front page.
“He drew everything that is a picture of Serbia. And he was truly a national treasure,” Petrović said.
Historian Branka Prpa pointed out that Korax fought against all forms of extremism.
“Fighting for yourself, fighting for others and fighting against your own passivity. Korax helped each of us discover our place in society,” said Branka Prpa.
Persistent and brave
Koraks’ colleague, cartoonist Dušan Petričić, highlighted Koraks’ persistence, courage and uncompromising professionalism.
“You can’t be a good cartoonist without being a brave person. That courage is a guide for all of us and an example of how to fight in these troubled times and the only way to get out of this mud,” said Petričić.
Journalist Jelka Jovanović said that Koraks’ work will outlive everything and will be studied both at faculties and in scientific disciplines such as applied art.
She also pointed to a sentence that is very often uttered in connection with Corax’s work – “Corax drew what I think.”
“He thought more clearly and further than all of us,” said Jelka Jovanović, who collaborated with Koraks in the newspapers Danas and Novi magazin.
The commemoration at the Center for Cultural Decontamination was also attended by numerous figures from public life, including the former Prime Minister Zoran Živković, opera singer Katarina Živković, retired professor of the Faculty of Political Sciences Čedomir Čupić, FPN professor Aleksandra Krstić, authors of “State Affairs”, as well as representatives of opposition parties.
The commemoration began with a minute of silence, and ended with applause in honor of Koraks.
Predrag Koraksić Koraks died on May 16 at the age of 93.
Source: Phonet, Vreme
