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100 godina od rođenja Miće Popovića / Centenary of the birth of Mića Popović Buran život avangardnog genija The tumultuous life of an avant-garde genius

In celebrating a century of this famous painter, we have every reason to stand in front of his works, to verify their truths and seek ourselves within them T hey say it’s possible to be a great artist and a little man, to have a big gift and a small spirit. I don’t believe in that. Great artists are great people. Only a great character can tell a great story, only a great soul can paint a great picture,” said poet Matija Bećković speaking

Slaveći vek čuvenog slikara, imamo sve razloge da zastanemo pred njegovim delima, da proverimo njihove istine i potražimo se u njima K ažu da je moguće biti veliki umetnik a mali čovek, krupan dar a mali duh. Ja u to ne verujem. Veliki umetnici su veliki ljudi. Veliku priču može ispričati samo veliki karakter, veliku sliku može na- slikati samo velika duša“, rekao je pesnik Matija Be-

ćković za jednog od najpoznati- jih srpskih umetnika – Miodraga Miću Popovića – koji je istovre- meno bio i likovni kritičar, i pi- sac, i filmski reditelj, a ipak ostao upamćen prvenstveno kao slikar. Mića Popović je rođen u Loznici pre 100 godina. Njegov otac Toma bio je učitelj, a majka Dana brinula je o domaćinstvu. Kad je dečak napunio četiri godi- ne, porodica Popović preselila se u Beograd, gde Mića polako stasava u grandioznu ličnost. Nakon za- vršene osnovne škole i gimnazi- je i nakon kraja Drugog svetskog rata, koji provodi delom u logo- ru, a delom na frontu, on upisu- je Likovnu akademiju u klasi ču- venog Ivana Tabakovića. Tu Mića zatiče vrlo čudnu kli- mu. Među profesorima se vodio rat oko toga da li se treba držati

about one of the most famous Ser- bian artists - Miodrag ‘Mića’ Pop- ović. For Mića, who was simulta- neously also an art critic, a writer and a film director, he has primar- ily been remembered as a painter. Mića Popović was born in Loznica 100 years ago. His fa- ther, Toma, was a teacher, while his mother, Dana, took care of the household. When Mića turned four, the Popović family moved to Bel- grade, where he slowly grew up to become a grandiose personal- ity. After completing his primary schooling and the ‘gymnasium’ high school, and after the end of World War II, which he’d partly spent in a labour camp and partly at the front, he enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts in the class of the famous Ivan Tabaković. Mića would find a very strange

predratnog intimizma ili se prikloniti nastupajućem socrealizmu. Uz ovu konfuznu ideološku situaciju, studentima nije bilo omogućeno da crtaju i slikaju po modelima. „Crtali smo ljudski kostur i bilo nam je dosadno“, kasnije je pričala Mićina supruga i ko- leginica Vera Božičković. Po dogovoru sa profesorom Tabakovićem, mala grupa studenata – Bata Mihailović, Petar Omčikus, Mile Andrejević, Ljubinka Jovanović, Kosara Boškan – i Mića i Vera, odlučila je da drugi semestar i godi- ne studija provede u prirodi, sa idejom da u toj le- poti nađu inspiraciju. Otisnuli su se u Dalmaciju, u Zadar, u kom je stvorena Zadarska grupa, prva posle-

climate there. He encountered a war being waged among the professors over whether to stick to pre-war intimism or to tend more towards the emerging social realism. This confused ideological situation led to students not being allowed to draw and paint according to models. “We drew a human skeleton and found it boring,” said Mića’s wife and classmate, Vera Božičković, speaking later. According to an agreement reached with Professor Tabaković, a small group of students - Bata Mihailović, Petar Omčikus, Mile Andrejević, Ljubinka Jovanović, Kosara Boškan, and Mića and Vera - decided to spend the second semester and years of study in nature, with the idea of finding inspiration in those beautiful sur-

Tekst / Words: Dragana Nikoletić Fotografije / Photography:

Aleksandar Stojanović

Art » Umetnost | 43

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