tadašnja vlast u Jugoslaviji nanela i njemu i mno- gim drugima pretočio je u dela poput „Manipulacija“, „Ne hvala!“, „Oštra osuda crnog talasa“. Serija slika „Gvozden“ ispredala je tužnu priču o gastarbajteri- ma što su išli u inostranstvo „trbuhom za kruhom“. Predstave majmuna koje su ga najviše proslavile bi- le su vezane za Mićin doživljaj odnosa političke eli- te prema običnim građanima. Trpeo je on i cenzuru, pa je izložba u Kulturnom centru Beograda 1974. bila „odložena na neodređeno vreme“, odnosno nikad i nije bila otvorena. Problem za nadležne bio je što je jednu naspram druge sta- vio dve drastično različite slike: jednu na kojoj Tito, kao doživotni predsednik Jugoslavije, u društvu ho- livudske zvezde Ričarda Bartona šeta svojim zoološ-
spending a year wandering America. He also journeyed through art movements – from the well-trodden paths of urban realism, through the roadless abstraction and informalism, all the way to figurative art, which in his case was politically engaged. He translated the injus- tice inflicted on him, and many others, by the then gov- ernment of Yugoslavia into works such as Manipula- tion, No Thanks! and Harsh Condemnation of the Black Wave. His series of paintings entitled Gvozden, mean- ing Iron-like, presented the sad story of guest workers who’d travelled abroad “to earn a loaf”. His presenta- tions of monkeys for which he was most celebrated were linked to Mića’s interpretation of the relation- ship between the political elite and ordinary citizens. He also suffered under censorship, so his 1974 ex- hibition at the Cultural Centre of Belgrade was “post- poned indefinitely”, Or rather, it never opened. The problem for the authorities was that he’d positioned two drastically contrasting pictures next to one an- other: one depicting lifelong Yugoslav President Ti- to walking at his Brijuni zoo in the company of Holly- wood star Richard Burton, with the other representing misery and poverty. Mića worked tirelessly from the age of 15 until his death in 1996. As his son Jovan recalls: “While he was on the phone, he would hold the receiver in his left hand and use his right to draw and make sketch- es.” However, his effort didn’t receive adequate social recognition until 1989, when he became an honor- ary citizen of Loznica. This great painter’s hometown also opened a legacy house dedicated to him and his wife Vera, who was his most reliable pillar of support throughout his entire life. The Loznica Memorial Collection comprises 19 of Mića’s paintings, two drawings and 18 graphics, as well as numerous monographs, but also books that he wrote himself, posters, catalogues, photographs, letters and items from his studio, including an easel. Of course, there are also Vera’s six paintings. Mića also wrote books, with a string of titles like Clashes and Harmonies, Excursion, The Evening in the Atelier and The Source of Paintings. He also put his name to films including The Man from the Oak Forest, The Swarm, The Stone Lord, Heroes and Burduš. He al- so directed the theatre play Victor or Children in Pow- er, which was performed at Belgrade’s Atelje 212. On top of all this, Popović also lectured at the State Uni- versity of New York in Albany as a visiting professor of drawing and painting. He became a corresponding member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts in 1978, only to become a full member of SANU seven years later. He received valuable awards in the mean- time, both domestically and internationally. “Mića Popović’s works will remain contemporary and relevant for a long time. He left behind not only an artistic mark, but also a moral mark of recognition on the face of our era,” concludes Snežana Nešković Simić, director of the Vuk Karadžić Cultural Centre in Loznica.
kim vrtom na Brionima, i drugu, sa predstavom be- de i sirotinje. Mića je radio neumor- no, još od svoje petnaeste godine pa praktično do smrti 1996. Njegov sin Jo- van stoga pamti: „Dok je te- lefonirao, slušalicu bi držao levom rukom, a desnom je crtao i pravio krokije“. Ali to nije pratilo odgovara- juće društveno priznanje, sve dok 1989. nije postao počasni građanin Loznice. Rodni grad velikog slikara otvorio je i legat posvećen njemu i njegovoj supruzi Veri, koja mu je celog ži- vota bila najpouzdanija podrška.
Mića Popović rođen je u Loznici 1923. godine Mića Popović was born in Loznica in 1923
Lozničku spomen-zbirku čini 19 Mićinih slika, dva crteža i 18 grafike, kao i brojne monografije, ali i knji- ge koje je sam pisao, plakati, katalozi, fotografije, pi- sma i predmeti iz njegovog ateljea, uključujući i štafe- laj. Naravno, tu je i Verinih šest slika. Mića je pisao i knjige, nižući naslove – „Sudari har- monije“, „Izlet“, „U ateljeu pred noć“, „Ishodište sli- ke“. On potpisuje i filmove „Čovek iz hrastove šume“, „Roj“, „Kameni despot“, „Delije“ i „Burduš“. Reditelj je i pozorišnog komada „Viktor ili deca na vlasti“, izvo- đenog u beogradskom Ateljeu 212. Na sve to Popović je i predavao na Njujorškom državnom univerzitetu u Olbaniju, kao gostujući profesor crtanja i slikanja. Za dopisnog člana SANU izabran je 1978, postavši re- dovni član te uvažene institucije sedam godina kasni- je. U međuvremenu je dobio i vredne nagrade, i doma- će i internacionalne. – Dela Miće Popovića ostaće savremena i aktuel- na još dugo vremena. Ostavio je ne samo umetnički nego i moralni znak raspoznavanja na licu naše epohe – zaključuje Snežana Nešković Simić, direktorka Cen- tra za kulturu „Vuk Karadžić“ u Loznici.
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