The Pope brothers

Growing up together in an art oriented environment, they both latched on to artistic pursuits at a young age. With their mother a poet and their father a Hollywood screenplay artist, art was a major influence. Both Bly and Rowan Pope went to Blake, Stanford, then to
University of Minnesota to receive their Master’s of Fine Arts degrees.

Along with closely linked backgrounds, the brothers also behave very similar in various situations. Emily Johnsrud ’17 states, “In class, they have different opinions but the way they express them is almost identical…you know, similar mannerisms and stuff like that.” When asked about this, both Bly and Rowan agreed. They confirmed that they behave similarly toward the people and have comparable habits and speech patterns.

However, when it comes to the art they make, they have different styles. Rowan’s work is called composite photoresist, which is derived from multiple image sources and integrates more imagination and narrative aspects. On the other hand, Bly’s work called literal photo realist pulling from just one source and is much more conceptual and straightforward.

The brothers do almost everything together. As Rowan states, “Compared to other siblings we are very close. We live together, work together… our lives, I would say, are very paralleled to each other’s.” The brother’s common interests don’t just end with art. Both of them enjoy spending time with activities like chess, basketball, and watching movies.

Though Colburn is away on sabbatical and is missed, Blake is lucky to have such great artists as his substitutes.