We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Teresa Moore a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Teresa thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
I’ve had several meaningful projects throughout my long career t I will mention the one that stands out at this juncture and is quite meaningful. In San Francisco every year the Zuckerberg hospital selects an artist to do a heart .These hearts are stationed at various parts of the city and near landmarks as public art. They are also auctioned off and the artist can accept the money or donate it directly back to the hospital for heart research . A couple of years ago my design for Hearts in Art was chosen and I was thrilled. I named my heart “Of corsets San Francisco!” And built a corset around the heart. The corset is two sided one very romantic red satin and lace very moulin rougesque and the other is black vinyl with grommets and laces very bondage and Folsom street flavor. I wanted to represent the two sides of the city ; one romantic and timeless , the other gritty and dangerous. Of of the aspects that made my participation so special was my design was chosen and they sent me the letter of acceptance the day before the anniversary of my heart attack just a couple of years prior. It was serendipity. It was sold at auction and I donated the proceeds back to the hospital to help others with heart issues. It was a beautiful experience.
Another remarkable project was my golden gate bridge headdress. I am constantly finding things and breathing new life into them as works of art . Some say recycled art or found objects etc. one day I was walking through the Castro in SF and saw a lonely beige old school phone cradle lying in the gutter. It just said golden gate bridge to me. I fashioned a bridge out of the phone using only foamcore paint and glitter. And flashing lights . It evolved into a head piece which I ended up wearing to go to a friend , Michael Johnstone’s bpride art show at the Harvey milk center. Michael absolutely loved it and invited me to be part of veraaphere a local community of artists and join them to walk in the pride parade. The headdress was an absolute hit. I even wore it the next year with my flashing glass bra that I built.
Teresa , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I am a self taught multimedia visual artist. As well as a working actor , musician, dancer /choreographer and filmmaker. I actually began my career as an actor and dancer. .A 17, as soon as I threw my high school graduation gap in the air, I said, “Mom, I am going to Los Angeles to be a movie star.” Of course she wanted me to go straight to college . But believe me I got a much richer education in the school of hard knocks that is Hollywood. My “day” job was a production assistant for Fantagraphics, a graphic novel publisher.I was inspired by the art and artists so much I began to express myself through drawing and eventually painting. My first foray literally stick figures in graphic, bright pop colors in a stream of consciousness style I coined “Popstract”.Inspired as well by the Italian renaissance religious art which led to a series of stick figure saints and allegories that took me to Miami Fl for a gallery show “Jesus Hangs Ten on South Beach.
I continued to experiment and evolve through my styles.I traveled like a gypsy to europe regularly and just end up living and working wherever I was. Living in London for a spell and then Rome where I spent my days in museums and cathedrals soaking in art and my evenings painting. I exhibited in Rome and featured in the press there.
Fast forward a few years I fall in love with the Bay Area where I will live for the next couple of decades. Keep in mind this is way before the internet and social media. So I literally “pounded the pavement” hiking the steep streets of San Francisco with my portfolio in hand. I was fortunate enough to land a long stint at the incredible Trojanowska gallery in Pacific Heights as well as exhibiting for the next several years in SF and all over the bay area. My style over that time began to evolve into the style I am now best known for. Inspired by the lost risque generation of the 20s and 30s I began painting sultry femme fatales and burlesque and cabaret scenes. One of my collectors asked me “Did you live in a brothel in Paris in your past life?’ Before long I had collectors all over the world. Soon I was the darling of the San Francisco art scene. Particularly in North Beach where I still have a table in the iconic Vesuvio. In the meantime , I continued to show around the country regularly. Tmes were good.
Paris was next and I spent a month of joie de vivre while my exhibit was at Galerie Du Rond Point on the Champs Elysee. It was in that time a my work resonated with Parisian Erotic novelist Christiane Peugeout she featured my work on the cover of her novel.
I have had some remarkable collectors, among them, a woman in New York worked for the MOMA and she was developing a book of braille of the MOMA collection so that blind people could “see” the art. I loved to be part of her collection.
My work has been featured in a ffilms, books, albums and CD art and rock posters for the Fillmore commissions for paintings and murals worldwide. In the meantime working as well as an actor , dancer and musician. I sing and play bass allaround the bay area with wonderful fellow musicians . As well as performing burlesque as TequilaMargaritAmor.
I’ve had a remarkable and lucrative career and feel blessed at this point that I get to do whatever I want . I still experiment constantly and am constantly learning but without the pressure of having to hustle to sell my art. It’s very liberating . I worked my ass off hustling st a time when Internet and social media didn’t exist. As hard as it was I made my bones authentically as an artist. With my soul and hands not computers. I’m a purist to a fault. That’s what true art is I believe. Being raw and authentic and expressing that through art forms.
How did you build your audience on social media?
I’m going to take an opposite spin to this question because I don’t like social media. I realize some may say it’s essential for marketing and promoting but as I said in my initial statement i am a purist. I want to express to all the young artists out there to not take these tools for granted. When I was coming up as an artist there was no Internet there was no social media. All of my pursuits and promotion was done with my bare hands grit and alot of pounding the pavement. I’m literally. I would schlep my portfolio up and down the hills of SF going from gallery to gallery . Even in my acting career everything was done in person physically showing up. I don’t think artists know how easy they have it . Everything at the clock of a button. Don’t even get me started on AI generated art done in seconds. Something that would take me a month to paint with my hands. I don’t like the inauthenticity of the digital world. As it pertains to art of any kind. I chose to get off of social media almost a year ago Though I do have a website which I prefer to the barage of social media. Artists will say omg how do you sell your work? My collectors know where to find me and people with my mindset do as well. I feel fortunate to be where I am in my career. I wouldn’t want to be a young artist in this global climate.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
Non creatives watch , they take in an experience They look at painting , see movies, listen to music and sit back and enjoy. And yes frequently criticize. They often have no idea what goes on behind the scenes . “Normal” people can work their jobs punch out and go home. Artists are constantly working. We are 24/7 on our craft. We eat, breathe, sleep our art. Some people can’t fathom the work that goes into what you experience from an artist. It propels you and ages you all at once . You love it one minute and hate it the next. But it’s all you do. Because you have to. It’s in your blood and soul. There is no punching out for the day as a creative. When I look at a work of art , or watch a performance, even if it’s not my “jam” the actor, or the band, or the writing, or the or whatever it is, I have the utmost respect for anyone out there doing this..Working or pursuing. It’s blood sweat and tears and frequently, rejection and though a”normal” line of work may be difficult road as well ,people can stop at some point. Rest is not an option for an artist. your mind is in constant creation . In addition I feel creatives live more in a day or a week more than a lot of people live in a year . If that makes sense. I wouldn’t want it any other way. Warts and all. I have such gratitude everyday for this artist life. It really is a blessing to have a creative Spirit.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://TeresaMoore.org
- Instagram: Teresamoore2647
- Facebook: The art of Teresa Moore
Image Credits
Ruby rieke
Steve snow