Affandi
Encyclopedia
Affandi was born in Cirebon
, West Java
, as the son of R. Koesoema, who was a surveyor at a local sugar factory. Affandi finished his upper secondary school in Jakarta
, but he forsook his study for the desire to become an artist. Affandi taught himself how to paint since 1934. He married Maryati, a fellow artist, and one of his children, Kartika
also became an artist.
paintings. Carrying the First Grandchild (1953) was the piece that marked his newfound style: “squeezing the tube.” Affandi paints by directly squeezing the paint out of its tube. He came across this technique by accident, when he intended to draw a line one day. As he lost his patience when he sought for the missing pencil, he applied the paint directly from its tube. The resulting effect, as he found out, was that the painting object appeared more alive. He also felt more freedom to express his feelings when he used his own hands, instead of a paint brush. In certain respects, he has acknowledged similarities with Vincent van Gogh.
As a renowned artist, Affandi participated in various exhibitions abroad. Besides India
, he has also displayed his works in the biennale in Brazil
(1952), Venice
(1954), and won an award therein), and Sao Paolo (1956). In 1957, he received a scholarship from the United States government to study the methods of arts education. He was appointed as Honorary Professor in Painting by Ohio State University
in Columbus
in the United States. In 1974, he received an honorary doctorate from University of Singapore, the Peace Award from the Dag Hammarskjoeld Foundation in 1977, and the title of Grand Maestro in Florence
, Italy
.
Before passing away, Affandi spent a lot of time sitting around in his own museum, observing his paintings. He said once, “I want to die in simplicity without giving anyone unnecessary trouble, so I could go home to Him in peace.”
After suffering a complication of illnesses, on Wednesday, the May 23, 1990, Affandi died. He is now buried in the museum complex, as he wished to always be surrounded by his family and his works.
Cirebon
Cirebon is a port city on the north coast of the Indonesian island of Java. It is located in the province of West Java near the provincial border with Central Java, approximately 297 km east of Jakarta, at .The seat of a former Sultanate, the city's West and Central Java border location have...
, West Java
West Java
West Java , with a population of over 43 million, is the most populous and most densely populated province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, it is slightly smaller in area than densely populated Taiwan, but with nearly double the population...
, as the son of R. Koesoema, who was a surveyor at a local sugar factory. Affandi finished his upper secondary school in Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
, but he forsook his study for the desire to become an artist. Affandi taught himself how to paint since 1934. He married Maryati, a fellow artist, and one of his children, Kartika
Kartika Affandi-Koberl
Kartika Affandi-Koberl , is an Indonesian artist born into a family of artists.- Early life :Kartika Affandi-Koberl was born in Jakarta in 1934. She is the daughter of Affandi and Maryati, who were both artists. Kartika became engaged to a young Javanese artist, Sapto, at the age of fourteen and...
also became an artist.
Artistic career
In the 1950s, Affandi began to create expressionisticExpressionism
Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
paintings. Carrying the First Grandchild (1953) was the piece that marked his newfound style: “squeezing the tube.” Affandi paints by directly squeezing the paint out of its tube. He came across this technique by accident, when he intended to draw a line one day. As he lost his patience when he sought for the missing pencil, he applied the paint directly from its tube. The resulting effect, as he found out, was that the painting object appeared more alive. He also felt more freedom to express his feelings when he used his own hands, instead of a paint brush. In certain respects, he has acknowledged similarities with Vincent van Gogh.
As a renowned artist, Affandi participated in various exhibitions abroad. Besides India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, he has also displayed his works in the biennale in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
(1952), Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
(1954), and won an award therein), and Sao Paolo (1956). In 1957, he received a scholarship from the United States government to study the methods of arts education. He was appointed as Honorary Professor in Painting by Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
in Columbus
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
in the United States. In 1974, he received an honorary doctorate from University of Singapore, the Peace Award from the Dag Hammarskjoeld Foundation in 1977, and the title of Grand Maestro in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
Museum
On the bank of the Gajah Wong River on Solo Street in Yogyakarta, Affandi designed and constructed a home for himself, which also functions as a museum to display his paintings. The building is uniquely constructed, with a roof that resembles a banana leaf. The museum has around 250 of Affandi’s paintings. Regrettably, the high air humidity and temperature are causing concerns about the condition of the paintings. The Affandi Foundation, who manages the museum, finds it difficult to manage the museum properly, due to a lack of funds and revenue.Before passing away, Affandi spent a lot of time sitting around in his own museum, observing his paintings. He said once, “I want to die in simplicity without giving anyone unnecessary trouble, so I could go home to Him in peace.”
After suffering a complication of illnesses, on Wednesday, the May 23, 1990, Affandi died. He is now buried in the museum complex, as he wished to always be surrounded by his family and his works.