Local photographer selected for Art of the State exhibition
Raj Manickam/Courtesy Picture
Neighborhood photographer Raj Manickam is one particular of 142 Colorado artists who have been picked to display their do the job in the Artwork of the State 2022 exhibition at the Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities.
Every single a few several years, the Arvada Middle retains an open get in touch with to Colorado artists to submit their perform to a panel of jurors, who then select is effective that mirror the diversity, top quality and depth of work of Colorado artists.
This yr, the jurors been given 2,067 submissions by 734 artists, finally deciding upon 149 works by 142 artists for the 2022 exhibition.
Manickam’s graphic of two overlaid images, “Juniper’s Past Gasp,” was selected by the jury and is now on display at the centre. The Art of the Condition exhibit commenced on Jan. 20 and will be up by means of March. 27.
Manickam only commenced producing good art pictures six several years ago, after having a course at Colorado Mountain College in Edwards. Since then, his function has acquired quite a few awards and been featured in various galleries across the point out. He stated to be recognized along with Colorado’s top artists in the Arvada show is an affirmation of the function he has set into his craft.
”The 6-calendar year journey is acknowledged in a good deal of techniques domestically below, and to get that identical recognition in a number of galleries in Denver – it is like some validation is getting viewed,” Manickam mentioned. “People are noticing what I put out, and I am grateful that they can get a glimpse of what I see. It feels like they know what I’m speaking about.”
In “Juniper’s Previous Gasp,” Manickam overlaid a picture of a useless juniper tree taken at the Colorado Countrywide Monument with an graphic of a trash pile taken in the course of a tour of a nearby Eagle County landfill. Though the resulting picture has a clear aesthetic pull, with the achieving branches of the lifeless juniper mingling with the formerly dazzling hues of plastic bottles, Manickam thinks it was selected for the reason that it has these kinds of a obvious and poignant concept.
“Photos like this evoke much more than emotion,” Manickam stated. “It provides out the depth of caring for our setting, caring for our environment, observing items that are outside of what we see day to day – if you treatment sufficient to fork out awareness.”
Manickam often seeks to tell a story with his pictures, which he writes up alongside the visuals on his web site, AllInGoodLight.com. In describing the tale driving “Juniper’s Final Gasp,” Manickam writes:
“Junipers will stand up to bone-chilling chilly temperatures, scorching heat, extreme winds, and with very tiny water. Enduring all problems, even the indomitable Juniper will perish if we pollute indiscriminately. Reuse, Minimize, Recycle.”
In addition to currently being showcased in the Art of the Condition this thirty day period, Manickam is also displaying his get the job done with pictures team Picture Pensato at the The Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Centre in Pueblo. The show begun on Jan. 22 and will run until finally May 7.
For more facts about Manickam and his operate, visit AllInGoodLight.com.
