Carlos Loarca: Portrait Of An Artist

Winner of the Best Documentary award at the 1992 San Antonio CineFestival, this engaging portrait of artist Carlos Loarca combines interview footage with the artist and generous samples of his work, as well as scenes of the artist painting. Now a resident of San Francisco, Loarca was born in Guatemala in 1937. Self-taught, Loarca compares the art of painting to the act of sweeping, and indeed, his larger canvases do feature the broad strokes characteristic of both activities. Attracted to the Guatemalan myth of "El Cadejo" about a spirit dog who safely guided home drunks from the cantinas, dog heads figure very prominently in Loarca's work. (Although Loarca's use of color is sometimes striking, many would find his range limited and his work extremely repetitive.) The only sour note in this otherwise interesting portrait comes from Cheryl Haines, Director of the Haines Gallery, who offers one of those on-the-spot interpretations of Loarca's work that sounds very much like a parody of that sort of thing, but unfortunately isn't. Inexpensive, and occasionally inspiring, Carlos Loarca: Portrait Of An Artist is recommended. (Available from: Quartet, 2121 Bryant St., Third Floor, San Francisco, CA 94110; (415) 647-1777; FAX (415) 647-1779.)