We did not take a picture with P Buckley Moss when Creative Director Rita Brame and I walked the few blocks from the magazine office in Downtown Blacksburg to her gallery in the Kent Square Building on a Spring Sunday earlier this year.
I had recently played her excellent piano in the gallery for a recording about the downtown piano project, and she told me the story of how she had acquired it. Rita’s interest in her work was invigorated after seeing her work and success into her 80s. Moss widespread commercial acclaim while rooted in SWVA, her name as an Attraction on interstate signs, and the Moss Arts Center sponsorship of 16 Blocks, led us to make contact with members of her family who invited us to meet her.
She was seated and vivid-minded when we were introduced, and was more interested in Rita’s art and the plans for the mural than speaking about herself. She offered the age-old wisdom of how hard work and staying true to your art pays off. The connection between the two artists was a natural one, and we parted ways making plans for a formal interview, and she invited us to a viewing of the PBS documentary about her.
Certain artists define a region by living and working there. As much as O Winston Link, Cy Twombly, Sally Mann, Moss’ work will stand as some of the most collected and cherished works any Appalachian artist has ever achieved.
Essay, and Original Piano Composition Played and Performed by Hart Fowler
Video Foto by @Ritabrame.art
http://www.pbuckleymoss.com/
