| Leonardo/ISASTwith Arizona State University

Frank Popper

Paris,
France

Born on 17th April 1918 at Prague, Frank Popper has lived successively in Vienna, London, Rome and Paris where he has definitely settled in 1955.After having studied at the Universities of London, Rome and Paris (Sorbonne), he has obtained, in 1966, a doctorate in Aesthetics with a dissertation on "L'image du mouvement dans les arts plastiques depuis 1860" (The image of movement in the visual arts since 1860), and in 1970, a Doctorat d'Etat (Doctorat Ÿ¬ lettres et sciences humaines) entitled "L'art cinètique. Naissance d'une nouvelle tendance dans le champ artistique" (Kinetic Art. The birth of a new trend in the artistic field). Since 1962, he is a member of the Institut d'Esthetique in Paris and at the beginning of 1969, he is among the founders of the Art Department of the University of Paris VIII at Vincennes where he heads the Visual Arts Department from 1970 to 1983. In 1976, he is appointed full professor of Aesthetics and the Science of Art, and in 1985 he is made Professor Emeritus at the same University. Frank Popper is a member of the International Association of Art Critics and Honorary Editor of the scientific journal Leonardo. Frank Popper ascertained that the artists using new techniques and new materials for creating their works of art had transformed the image of movement in art into a true art of movement. Several exhibitions organised by him, especially Kunst-Licht-Kunst at the Stedekijk Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven, Holland (1966) and Lumi?e et Mouvement at the Musèe d?Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (1967) managed to demonstrate this development. Among his numerous studies devoted to kinetic artists, the monograph on Yaacov Agam (New York: Abrams) reached its 4th edition in 1990. His book From Technological to VIrtual Art was published by the MIT Press in 2007. In October 2011 he published the paper "Le virus perturbateur dans l’art des nouveaux mèdias" in the Journal Recherches en Esthètique

Journal Articles:
Leonardo Web Resources

Frank Malina, Artist and Scientist: Works 1936–1963

February 2001
Special Section: Pioneers and Pathbreakers

Art, Science, Technology: Six Exhibitions 1966–1998

April 2019