Affandi Koesoema
(1907-1990)
Affandi was born in Cirebon in 1907, the son of R. Koesoema, an orderly measuring the sugar factory in Tangerang, Cirebon. In terms of education, it includes a formal education is quite high. For people his generation, his education, MULO, and subsequently graduated from the AMS, including the education obtained only by a handful of country boy.
However, his art talent is very strong beat other disciplines in life, and indeed has made his name famous the same as the figures or leaders of other fields.
At the age of 26 years, in 1933, Affandi was married to Maryati, a girl born in Bogor. Affandi and Maryati blessed with a daughter who will inherit his father’s talent as a painter, the Kartika Affandi.
Before starting to paint, Affandi had been a teacher and had also worked as a torn ticket and cinema billboard image maker in one of cinema in Bandung. This work is no longer cultivated because Affandi more interested in the field of painting.
Around the year 30’s, joined the group Five Affandi Bandung, Bandung is a group of five painters. They are Hendra Gunawan, Barli, Sudarso, and Wahdi and Affandi believed served as group leader. This group has a considerable share in the development of art in Indonesia. This group is different from Indonesia Picture Experts Association (Persagi) in 1938, but a study group together and work together helping each other and painter.
In 1943, Affandi held his first solo exhibition in Sydney Poetera House who was then in progress of the Japanese occupation in Indonesia. Four series – which consists of Ir. Soekarno, Drs. Mohammad Hatta, Ki Hajar Dewantara, and Kyai Haji Mas Mansyur – leading the Cultural Section Poetera (Poesat People’s Power) to take part. In this section Poetera Culture Affandi act as implementers and S. Soedjojono in charge, which directly make contact with the Bung Karno.
Coming home from India, Europe, in the fifties, Affandi nominated by the Communist Party to represent the people do not belong to a party in the Constituent Assembly election. And elected him, as Prof. Ir. Saloekoe Poerbodiningrat etc., to represent the people not partisan. In the constituent assembly, according to a friend Basuki Resobowo painter as well, usually she’s just quiet Affandi, sometimes sleeping. But when the commission meeting, Affandi spoke. He entered humanitarian commission (perhaps now HAM) led Wikana, Affandi also close friends since before the revolution.
