Episode 262 – Jerry Moriarty

Virtual Memories Show 262:
Jerry Moriarty

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“I wouldn’t be anybody if it weren’t for my Art Card.”

Paintoonist (painter + cartoonist) Jerry Moriarty joins the show to talk about playing the Art Card all his life. We get into the genesis of his Jack Survives comics and his recent book, Whatsa Paintoonist? (Fantagraphics), his 50 years teaching at SVA, his move back to his childhood home in upstate NY in his 70s, the role of memory in art, his evolution from AbEx to Pop Art to representational to paintooning (with a sideline in magazine illustration), his experience playing at CBGB’s with the Steel Tips, his evening with Willem De Kooning, the belief that talent is a scam, why he doesn’t sell his paintings (and who he’s hoping to bequeath his paintings to), and a lot more! Give it a listen! And go buy Whatsa Paintoonist? & The Complete Jack Survives!

“It’s not the art itself, it’s the memory of the art, the memory the art evokes. So I wouldn’t just be selling a picture; I’d be selling the memory of the picture. Art has a whole life different than we’re used to seeing.”

“There’s no wrong way of drawing, except don’t hide behind something. Don’t cartoon it because you can’t draw it.”

Enjoy the conversation! Then check out the archives for more great episodes!

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About our Guest

Jerry Moriarty is a painter and cartoonist (self-described as “paintoonist”) from New York. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Pratt institute, and his best known work in cartooning is the comic Jack Survives. He taught at the School of Visual Arts in New York City for 50 years. His most recent book is Whatsa Paintoonist?.

Credits: This episode’s music is Nothing’s Gonna Bring Me Down by David Baerwald, used with permission from the artist. The conversation was recorded at Jerry’s home on a pair of Blue enCORE 200 Microphones feeding into a Zoom H5 digital recorder. I recorded the intro and outro on a Heil PR-40 Dynamic Studio Recording Microphone feeding into a Cloudlifter CL-1 and a Mackie Onyx Blackjack 2×2 USB Recording Interface. All processing and editing done in Adobe Audition CC. Photos of Mr. Moriarty & his work by me. It’s on my instagram.