Desa Glišić je bila jedna od naših prvih karikaturistkinja.
Rođena je u Beogradu, gde je završila i Umetničku akademiju, te 1934. počinje da radi kao ilustratorka Sudske hronike u listu „Trgovački glasnik“. Tokom karijere sarađivala je i sa „Vremenom“ i „Ošišanim ježom“. Nakon dolaska kvislinga Milana Stojadinovića u „Vreme“, svi progresivni saradnici ovog lista bivaju označeni kao levičari i dobijaju otkaz, a među njima je bila i Desa. Posle Drugog svetskog rata je bila urednica „Ježa“. Osvajala je nagrade u Italiji i Francuskoj.
U svojim karikaturama prikazivala je poznate ličnosti – političare, sportiste, glumce itd., ali ono po čemu su ostali prepoznatljivi bili su prikazi savremene, bujne i vragolaste žene. Najpoznatiji lik iz Desine karijere je svakako Dara Nijagara. Nakon prikazivanja filma „Nijagara“ sa Merilin Monro Desa je želela da napravi lik domaće žene koja po svaku cenu želi da izgleda kao strankinja, u periodu kada su žene i devojke u Beogradu, po Desinim rečima, počele da se oblače smešno i da preteruju.
Zbog provokativnog prikaza moderne žene Desa je često imala neprijatnosti i nailazila je na negodovanja. Između ostalog, bila je opzuživana da kvari omladinu, a jedan ugledni književnik ju je optužio i za to što mladići njene karikature lepe po kupatilima i klozetima. Desa nije videla ništa sporno u svom prikazu žene, iz razloga što je smatrala da je ženska priroda dvostruka, te da je žena i žena-čovek i žena-žena, a da muškarci žele ženu koja će biti intelektualka i domaćica, majka, ali i koja neće „mirisati na paprikaš“. Žensko telo je prikazivala kao lepo i senzualno i o tome je vrlo otvoreno govorila.
Dara je tokom karijere bila pozivana da crta uživo na važnim (državnim) događajima. Između ostalih, tokom Prvog zasedanja nesvrstanih zemalja u Beogradu, BITEF-u, FEST-u, a portretisala je i Nila Armstronga tokom njegove posete Beogradu, kao i Če Gevaru prilikom boravka u glavnom gradu.
Desa Glišić was one of the first Serbian female caricaturists.
She was born in Belgrade, where she also graduated at the Academy of Arts and started working as an illustrator at one of the newspapers. Throughout her career she worked for several newspapers and magazines. She worked for “Vreme” (Serbian version of “Times” magazine) until the arrival of quisling Milan Stojadinović into their redaction, when Desa was expelled from the editorial staff with other “leftists”.
Desa portrayed famous personas in her drawings – politicians, actors etc. but she is remembered for her illustrations of modern and sensual women. Her most famous character was called Dara Nijagara (Dara Niagara). After the screening of Marilyn Monroe’s movie “Niagara”, this was a period when women in Belgrade started wearing over-the-top clothes, and Desa wanted to create an image of a woman who desperately wants to look as a foreigner.
Desa had a lot of unpleasant experiences due to her portrayal of modern women and was often called out for those. For example, she was accused of spoiling the youth and one famous writer even accused her for inspiring “young men to hang her drawings in bathrooms and toilets”.
Desa didn’t think there was anything wrong with the way she drew women, since men want a woman who is both an intellectual and a housewife. She thought there is nothing wrong with portraying woman’s body as beautiful and sensual, and she spoke about this openly.
Throughout her career Desa was drawing and major state events, for example during the First meeting of Non-Aligned Movement, and she also portrayed Neil Armstrong and Che Guevara during their stay in Belgrade.