Meghan Moore - the coolest chick in NYC

Meghan Moore - the coolest chick 

After tackling skate, music, and street art in the freezing cold the past few days, a warm cup of coffee with an artist seemed like the way to go on Saturday.  We caught up with Meghan Moore at Edna’s on Nassau in Greenpoint.  Meghan studied painting at a fine arts school and has worked an array of creative jobs. 

You can see her most recent work on her website: http://www.meghanmmoore.com/works-on-paper.html

Meghan has lived quite the adventurous life.  When she was young she took a job as a reporter/videographer for a local AOL news property – without having ever used a video camera!  She just needed the money and she learned nights while working days.  On a whim she signed on to a small band trying to make it big.  She’s controlled the media for a band (photography, website, merchandise, album artwork, marketing, etc.) and crafted their look. 

Meghan and Brooke from Queen Orlenes

She’s lived the starving artist life in Brooklyn for years, hustling to make money.  Now she lives in her own art studio and works in the fine arts community, curating inventory for art collectors by day.  We spoke about artistic inspiration and she shared her theories on artistic style.  

For her, style isn't chosen – it’s just what’s left when you strip everything else away.  You find it when you stop trying to completely replicate reality and start leaving room for subjectivity.  Your style is reflected in the information you choose to include in the piece and the information consciously leave out for the viewer to fill in.  How you strike a mark.  Heavy?  Light? Thick? Thin?  They all convey different emotions.  This is what makes each artist unique.  

Meghan is a figure artist.  “No one wants a picture of someone they don’t know.  You have to make it relatable to people, so they want the picture because of something they see in it.” 

Meghan talked a lot about making a personal brand.  Art collectors don’t care as much of what the subject is, as long they think the artist is cool.  They want pieces from well-known artists, and you need to portray a sense that you’ve been around a while.  She accomplishes this through her website, which a friend built and curated for her as a favor.  She uses Instagram for networking, following other artists, museums, art collectors, etc.

Converse has an opportunity to build websites for artists who don’t have the means to otherwise.  This will help them showcase their talent and create a personal brand to attract future opportunities.  Maybe this is in the form of some sponsorship?  

 Meghan spoke about the struggles. – money is always an issue.  Day jobs are required while you daydream about living off your studio work.  Making that dream come true is extremely tough.  Commission work has changed.  Meghan doesn't seek out commission work, she takes it as it comes.  It’s moving digital.  She noted that if she wanted to really get into the commission game, she would need to hire a freelance digital artist to digitize the piece and further doctor.  But that’s not what she wants to do – she’s a stone and mortar type of artist, she claims.  Old school in a way, creating with your hands sans screens.  She said that she tends to escape from media.  We asked her about what media she consumes, and it's primarily non-fictional books.  Journalistic documentaries are her favorite.  She likes art blogs, and looks at street posters/bulletins to see what's going on.  

The ultimate goal is for people to buy her work, and she can live off that money.  I asked her what would be the best thing someone could do for her career.  Her response, “Get my work in a gallery!”  Where?  In the art gallery district in Chelsea, anywhere in New York really.  There’s even some places in Bushwick.  She said PR is what she needs.  Getting written up in popular art blogs such as:

• Colossal: http://www.thisiscolossal.com/
• Booooooom: http://www.booooooom.com/

Converse has an opportunity to open a gallery and feature local artists. Rotating them monthly (maybe have 2 at a time?) and inviting people in the industry to come.  The featured artists could also be featured on these blogs, and influencers on Instagram could help get the social conversation going.