Profile: Anthony Moss

Q: Name?
Anthony Moss. 6’0″. Green eyes. Brown hair. Organ donor. Doesn’t need corrective lenses.

Q: Who are you and what do you do for a living?
“Who are you” is a pretty existential question, which I’ll have to abbreviate for the sake of the reader’s time and patience. I can’t exactly speculate here about human origins or how we fit into a larger teleological framework. And speaking of teleology, I really dislike the convention of asking “what do you do” directly after introducing oneself. The majority of answers we receive are boring little ripostes that are supposed to massage our fragile egos or impart some sense of artificial awe. The purpose behind these canned pleasantries is often more subtle and reconnaissance-like.What you’re really asking is: “How do I stand relative to you on the socioeconomic ladder? Above? Below? Are you worth my time?” I am a director of operations. I am a regional manager. I am the senior vice president of who-gives-a-shit. Of course a person’s basic motivation to get up each day—the thing that gives them a larger purpose and genuine satisfaction in life—rarely correlates one-on-one to what services they exchange on the public market. That said, I teach college prep courses and tutor AP English for unreasonably overachieving Silicon Valley kids.

Q: What is a recurring theme you explore in your art?
A recurring theme in my art, especially of late, if dissatisfaction with the American status quo and the reluctance of my compatriots to do anything to arrest the deterioration of our country’s social and moral fiber. I use national symbols but employ them in a subversive way. The poster I created for B+ is very much this. It’s not anti-American so much as its a desire to recapitulate American-ness in such a way that it isn’t a synonym for jingoism or over-consumption. I think that America’s democratic potential begs to be deepened and radicalized, away from this knee-jerk reactionism that clings to things the way they were 50 or 100 years ago. I think there’s a way to be seriously democratic—call it left libertarian or even anarchist—in a way that stays true to the American love for liberty.

Q: If we were a fly on the wall, what would we find you doing at home?
I’m probably devouring the latest Osamu Tezuka or Shigeru Mizuki work that I’ve managed to get my hands on. The classic manga artists from the 1960s-1970s. I might be discrediting the newest “leak” surrounding the possible plot of Star Wars 7, reading some political treatise or another, trying to write my own book, playing with my corgi, Simon, or complaining to my wife about how I have to wash the dishes. You know, the general nerdery that is part-and-parcel of Silicon Valley life.

Q: A little known fact about yourself?
As I teenager, I once swallowed a large amount of Ajax or Comet balled up in toilet paper. I was told it would flush my system of any evidence of cocaine use. Luckily I didn’t have to call Poison Control.

Q: What excites you about either your poster, or the upcoming poster show?
Well, it’s [the poster's] a little edgy but it’s a good reminder that the values we embrace have wide-reaching ramifications for the rest of the world. We have a lot of responsibility to one another and to the planet as both consumers and exporters of culture/manufactured needs. In our globalized age, the decisions we make often result in matters of life-and-death somewhere else. It can be almost paralysis-inducing to think about, but it can also be an exciting challenge that snaps us out of our daily apathies. I’m proud of Eric Zwierzynski for pulling off something of this scale. Maybe he’s got a budding organizer in him somewhere.

Q: When you think of ‘a better place’, what do you think of?
http://c4ss.org/content/28216

Q: Where can we contact you and/or see some of your work?
My flim-flam website is www.mossillustration.net. You can contact me at anthonymoss@gmail.com if you want to order prints or commission artwork. I prefer to work direct and not through some freelancer website or that kind of thing. Gray markets are the way to go.