Popo Iskandar (17 December 1927 – 29 January 2000) was a painter, a prominent Indonesian art educator, literature critic and an essayist.
Life
Popo Iskandar was born in Garut, West Java. His father, R.H. Natamihardja is a retired bank clerk. Since childhood his father expected Popo to become an architect. Although he failed in architecture, he managed to get a baccalaureate degree in mathematics. Popo began his painting education during the Japanese rule in Indonesia. After that, he entered the
Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) in 1953. He had taught at IKIP Bandung. Angkama, his older brother who works as a HIS drawing teacher, greatly influenced Popo's interest in painting. Popo had received guidance from two teachers, namely Hendra Gunawan and Barli Samitawinata.
Popo's paintings were heavily influenced by his teacher at the Department of Fine Arts, ITB,
Ries Mulder
Marinus (Ries) Mulder (1 January 1909 in IJsselstein, The Netherlands – 19 December 1973 in IJsselstein) was a Dutch painter, lecturer and writer. His painting style was influenced by Cubism, which he taught during his tenure as a leading lectu ...
from the Netherlands, who painted in the Cubism and Abstract schools of thought. At the Faculty of Fine Arts and Design (FSRD-ITB), he worked alongside artists such as
A.D. Pirous
The terms (AD) and before Christ (BC) are used to label or number years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The term is Medieval Latin and means 'in the year of the Lord', but is often presented using "our Lord" instead of "the Lord", ...
, Ahmad Sadali,
Mochtar Apin
Mochtar Apin (23.Des.1923–01.Jan.1994) was an accomplished Indonesian painter and tenured lecturer.
He was co-founder of the Arena of Independent Artists movement (Gelanggang Seniman Muda ) in Jakarta in 1946, and a member of the Bandung In ...
and
Umi Dachlan. However, the influence of Hendra Gunawan's realism was strong enough that in his development, Popo found his own style in painting.
[''Popo Iskandar''. Ensiklopedi Tokoh Kebudayaan IV, Departmen Pendidikan Nasional Jakarta, Jakarta, 1999, hlm. 103-10]
/ref>
He is a painter with strong characteristic in his expressive painting style, especially in his figurative expression, where he became a role model for the next generation of painters. Popo liked to paint cats, earning the nickname "cat painter". His famous motives are "Cat" and "Rooster". However, he also paints numerous other themes from the nature.[{{Cite web, url=http://archive.ivaa-online.org/pelakuseni/popo-iskandar, title=Indonesian Visual Art Archive {{! Karya-Karya Popo Iskandar, website=archive.ivaa-online.org, language=en, access-date=2017-09-21]
Popo frequently participated in painting exhibitions, both domestically and abroad. In 1976, he held a solo exhibition in The Hague, Netherlands. In 1980, he was awarded the Anugerah Seni Negara by the Indonesian Government for his artistic achievements.[''Popo Iskandar''. Ensiklopedi Tokoh Kebudayaan IV, Departmen Pendidikan Nasional Jakarta, Jakarta, 1999, hlm. 103-10]
/ref>
Apart from being a painter and educator in art education, Popo Iskandar is also known as an art thinker and critic. He likes to write essays about art and culture in various mass media. He was elected chairman of BPB Kiwari Bandung in 1960 and a life member of the Jakarta Academy in 1970.
Bibliography
* '' Affandi: A New Path in Realism'' (Jakarta, 1977)
* History of Indonesian Fine Arts (Jakarta, 1982) published by the Directorate of Culture, Ministry of Education and Culture.
* Naskah ''Pre-Persagi Indonesian Painting''
* 55 Years of Paintings by Popo Iskandar: Image and Thought. Mamannoor, Published by Yayasan Matra Media Bandung, 1998, 188 Pages.
References
Bandung Institute of Technology faculty
20th-century Indonesian painters