Artist’s Perspective – Moretti

Artist Statement

I am a painting jazz musician, trumpeter, and composer. When I paint, I think of sound, and when I play music, I think of colors. Rhythm, harmony, articulation, dynamics, and phrasing become part of my creative decisions. I use my music composition process to inspire my painting subjects and style. This connection energizes me to create thru a more conceptional process.

For example, the color yellow when reduced from light vibration to sound vibration sounds the tone Bb, a prominent color since I play a Bb trumpet. All colors can be associated with their tonal equivalents. Using these tones, language, theory, form, and emotional passion of music allows me to go from what I know to what is new.

Music and art continuously intersect in my mind. Though my musical and artistic accomplishments stretch back to the 1970’s, I am creating exciting new works in acrylic medium: painting musical icons and themes that have influenced my life and career.

Bio

Influences

The most notable and influential artists in my life have been trumpeter and jazz master Miles Davis and avant-guarde composer and multi-media conceptual artist John Cage. Both artists opened a new window for elements of freedom in art. Their wide imaginations championed aleatory operations in their practice and in their performances. They understood that the creation of music and art spring from the same well.

Education

I am a formally trained musician and a self-taught visual artist. I have an M.M. in Performance and Composition and a B.S. in Music Education, both from West Chester University of Pennsylvania. Playing trumpet commercially for over 50 years, I’ve worked with world-class jazz artists such as legendary guitarist Pat Martino, and I’ve forged lifelong friendships with other artists such as saxophonist Stan Getz.
My art education began in the early 1970s, when I had the good fortune to participate in the avant-garde movement in New York City. Music compositions were multi-media; mixed artistic disciplines were blended to create something new. Music, painting, poetry, electronic and acoustic instruments, recordings, objects, newly created instruments, and electronic effects mashed together to form a “life is art” presentation. I have been painting professionally for 10 years.

Art Experiences

Though my artistic experiences have been predominantly in music, today I am focused on painting. My work has been shown area galleries, music festivals and pop up art shows, the Chester County Studio Tour. Commissions accepted.

My Art View

My participation in art is an explicit blend of music and painting. My mind connects music to painting and painting to music. Discovering a new expression from music stimulates my creative process. Together both modes spark a synergistic energy whereby I take one art form and reshape it into another.

Process
My process is a series of discrete steps: listening to music, imagining the completed work, seeing the end from an abstract beginning and allowing my expression to form the work. I use a limited palette to bend and shape an image while endeavoring to maintain a balance between abstraction, realism and chance. I would describe my style as abstract realism.