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Manick Sorcar Art Exhibition at the Foothills Art Center, Golden, Colorado:

 

(Above) The Denver Post, the most popular newspaper of the State of Colorado had their 'Art Show Pick',
and ran a story on the unique art show a few days later. Below is the reproduction of the story.

"Newsmakers become art
Artist uses clippings for portraits"

By Judith Wyatt
(Special to the Denver Post)

October 23, 1996

GOLDEN

Despite what a few highfalutin' journalists might say, there aren't many of us who would confuse newspaper clippings with art.

Unless those clippings end up in the hands of artist, animator and lighting designer Manick Sorcar.

Then they become portraits of Mahatma Gandhi, John F. Kennedy or even Mayor Wellington Webb.

"I wanted to portray newsmakers," said Sorcar, 49, who lives in Arvada.

"What media could be more appropriate than the newspaper to portray someone who is always in the news?"

Sorcar's show of news-clip portraits, traditional paintings and live-action animation is on display at the Foothills Art Center. By profession, he is an electrical engineer and lighting designer who created the lighting design for the concourses at Denver International Airport.

But by passion, Sorcar is an artist who says he is always looking for new media to explore, an ardor born from childhood creating magic shows for his father, the Indian magician P. C. Sorcar, and fueled by the need to paint the plight of rural India and Pakistan during the 1970s.

Sorcar tried his hand at live-action animation, a combination of cartoon animation and live actors, and ended-up winning top awards at national and international film and television festivals in Chicago and New York in 1993, beating out the Children's Television Network and animators Hanna-Barbera.

Six years ago, about the time he started work in DIA, he got the idea of creating portraits from newsprint to tell the stories of his subjects.

Sorcar saved clippings about Denver Mayor Wellington Webb and DIA, and the result is a first rough draft of history shaped into a portrait of the man who made it.

Sorcar, who has no formal education in art, uses a basic pencil outline when he begins a portrait, but only pieces of black and white news clips glued to a white canvas to create shape, line and shading.

Getting a supply of news clips for his portrait of O.J. Simpson wasn't hard. Figuring out Sorcar's take on the case, from the long newspaper tear on O.J.'s cheek, is. Sorcar isn't saying.

But he doesn't mind revealing his feeling on art. "You can do a great picture with traditional water paint, or acrylic, or newspaper or trash, or you can even pick up cans from the garbage and you can make a fantastic picture and be recognized for it," he says.

"But you have to set your mind to do something that you love and keep doing it. And you can shine at that."

The Foothills Art Center is at 809 15th St. in Golden. The show runs through Sunday. Hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1-4 p.m. Sunday.

 

 

 

 
Copyright © 2024, Manick Sorcar Productions