When one thinks of a plastic surgeon one thinks of unwavering,
delicate hands that are sensitive to the skin's elasticity, and the fragility
of the human form. A person with eyes that can see the future of unveiling
a beautiful creation. The hands of an artist are no different, if not
entirely the same. Painters' hands are instinctively aware of their movement
in brushstrokes, the fluidity of paint and the pressure applied to the
canvas. Lithographers are sensitive to the stone, the deepness in which
to etch, with the carving of lines and image. A sculptor has an inventor's
eye and the hands of a welder, able to create three-dimensional objects
with the foresight of a visionary. As are the hands of Plastic Surgeon
and Artist Daniel Man M.D., a self taught artist and an active member
in the art world.
Dr. Man is known as a creator of beauty. A renowned plastic surgeon
with the passion of an artist with sculptor's hands, his paintings, lithographs
and sculptures can be found in private collections throughout the United
States. Named "Humanitarian of the Year in 2001" by Palm Beach
County Victim Rights Coalition Man is known for donating art to charities
in Palm Beach County. In his dedication to the field of medicine and the
arts, he has been a guest lecturer discussing art and plastic surgery
to residents at the University of Miami School of Medicine. "During
my university years, I had several opportunities to tour Europe. I traveled
to Paris and visited the Louve. I was awed by the works of the great masters,
including Michelangelo, Matisse and Rodin. I was thrilled by what I saw,
and I yearned to be an artist. I read that Michelangelo would examine
a piece of marble for days, sometimes months, before he could envision
the work of art within. I believe there is art in every object, hidden,
lying just beneath the surface. One only has to look deep enough to find
it," he says.
A Plastic Surgeon by day and Artist by night, Dr. Man believes art is
the essence of all things beautiful and that it only has to be brought
to the surface. "There is beauty in all things," expresses Man.
His office and operating suites are filled with his paintings and sculptures,
which he says, brings his patients closer to him and opens the door to
communication. He has exhibited works at the Boca Museum of Art, Addison
Gallery and Cunningham Artists Gallery, and he has been featured in many
well-known magazines, including Vougue, Allure, Newsweek, Omni, The Journal
of Aesthetic Surgery, Boca News, Longboat Key and Gulfshore, in addition
to being interviewed on Good Morning America, CNN and ABC Evening News
with Peter Jennings.
"I am influenced by two schools of Art - the contrast-heavy realism
of the Old Dutch masters and the vibrant colorations of the French impressionistic
painters. I like realism all by itself, but I feel that realism in painting
cannot compete with today's photography. Gradually I began to temper my
art realism with strains of impressionism. Today I am blending the two
in ways that are pleasing to the eye and the emotions," says Man.
His paintings have flare, with passionate colors and sweeping brushstrokes.
The physicality of his three-dimensional sculptures embrace the passionate
movement of the body as well as the physical form. "As an artist,
I begin with one dimension, then add a second, then a third. For me, the
picture is complete when the pieces talk to each other," explains
Man.
"As a plastic surgeon, I must be familiar with the sense of aesthetics
and science - how they can be combined, and the limitations of each. Years
of medical study and research have given me the knowledge of underlying
anatomy and the technical skills to create the face or body a patient
desires. This scientific education was the foundation I needed when I
began sculpting the human form," says Man.
His knowledge of anatomy of the human body is a definite asset. His
life-size, six-foot sculpture "It Takes Two To Tango" portrays
two dancers in motion and is made of copper and mounted on a rotating
base. Gazing up at the sculpture you see the dancers above you and you
are physically awed and emotionally moved.
Along with his passion for art he is aware of worldly concerns. His painting
"The Handshake" hung in the White House the last 3 years of
Clinton's administration. "It was a very large painting depicting
the peace handshake that occurred on the White House lawn between Israeli
Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin and Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman,
Yassir Arafat and was donated to the Clintons in 1997.
His book "The New of Art of Man: Faces of Plastic Surgery"
is another testimony to his love of art and combines this with his passion
for plastic surgery and his patients. This 252 page, full color guidebook
contains more than 52 photographs of paintings, sculptures, plus over
200 before and after photographs of patients.
