Posts Tagged ‘pop art’

Mark Tobin Moore is a Charleston, West Virginia artist who specializes in Rauschenberg-like mixed media paintings full of pop culture references and thought-provoking social statements.

Early Life
As a young man growing up in Washington D.C., professor Moore loved to draw. As a teenager he would spend hours in his room listening to the Beatles and painting dioramas, model ships, WWII planes, and other military related crafts. “My first art experience was drawing Civil War battles with little ant-like figures, maybe hundreds per scene. My brother would tape a few sheets of paper together so I could depict really big battles. Some of these took days to complete.” After realizing his potential and love for art, Mark first began developing his craft by receiving mild training from his older brother. From age 10 to age 12 he received further instruction during his stay at Scotus Academy, a boys private school in Edinburgh, Scotland. Upon returning to the states, Mark enrolled in Morris Harvey (Now known as the University of Charleston) as well as Marshall and later West Virginia University. After attending all three of these schools professor Moore received his BA, MA, and MFA in art.

Inspiration and Admiration
“My favorite work by someone else should probably be answered in two ways. Art-history-wise, I really love Robert Rauschenberg’s combines from the 1950’s and 1960’s. Locally, a few of the up-and-comers interest me, but I have to say the collage-painters Hank Keeling, Dick Allowatt, and Eric Pardue usually inspire me the most. Of course, I must also mention Robert Villamagna in Wheeling. He’s an assemblage and collage genius, that guy.” Mark’s inspiration comes from music, and some art works, mostly Abstract Expressionist, or Pop. He also finds that discarded objects, photography and other pieces of “scrap” truly speak to him.

Current and Future WorkToday Mark Moore is a professor at Concord University. He owns his own studio called the Blue Door Art Studio and is highly regarded in the art community for his many works which include: works for museum shows, a large installation piece, a six-panel traveling history exhibit and much more. One could find Mark’s work anywhere from The Washington Street Gallery in Lewisburg as well as regional museums and university galleries and was recently featured in the Clay Center invitational, Autobiographies: Six West Virginia Artists. He has done shows in Paris, France as well as a number of places in Germany.

Mark’s future plans include a number of goals. Continuing to be able to afford his art studio is first on the list. Two is continuing to create art that is real to him. Art that is authentic and reflects his desire to really feel what is happening to him. “Goal three, then, is being able to filter myself-to be able to discern the difference between my inner-noise, and meaningful insights…at least about my own experiences. These seem to come less often as I age, since the more I live the less I know. That’s for sure.”