Biography of Miodrag Mića Popović

Miodrag Mića Popović was born in Loznica on June 12th, 1923. His first exhibition was in 1940, as part of the 13th Autumn Exhibtion of Belgrade Artists, in the "Cvijeta Zuzoric" gallery. At that time, he was a seventh grade student at an all-boys high school. He enrolled at the Academy of Sciences and Arts in 1946 (in the class of prof. Ivan Tabakovic). In the spring of 1947, together with Vera Bozickovic, Kosom Boksan, Ljubinka Jovanovic, Milorad Bata Mihailovic, Petar Omcikus, and Mile Andrejevic, he organized an artists' communal living experiment in Zadar, because of which he was expelled from the Academy.

His first solo exhibition was at the "Cvijeta Zuzoric" gallery. In the foreword to the exhibition catalog he explained his views on the freedom of expression. He lived in Paris between 1951 and 1954. In 1956, he became a member of the society of Serbian artists "Lada." He became an associate member of the Serbian Academy of Science and Art in 1978, and a full member in 1984. He lived in New York between 1980 and 1982, and taught art there.

He was not only a painter but scenographer, director, scriptwriter and writer. In 1954 he publishes memories of Sudari travel harmonije, the novel Izlet (1957), tests on the art U ateljeu pred NOC (1962) and Ishodiste slike (1967). Creates scenografies for the shows of Beckett, Ionesco, Mrozek. He directs five movies on own scenarios. Dealing with the topics of history or the war Popovic tries to open his films to universal meaning, but the critic find ideological controversies. The two films Hasanaginica and Burdus, even if have not provoked controversies, didn't pass unnoticed from the critic. Popovic decides to return and dedicate himself exclusively to the painting, but his " cinematographic adventure " makes to be born one new phase in his art: the cycle of pictures of Gvozden, the main personage of the Delije film.