artist
An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, th ...
whose passion for wildlife and natural heritage visually fuses themes of spirituality and mysticism. John is a Master
Printmaker
Printmaking is the process of creating work of art, artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand proce ...
and has also held teaching positions at Crawford College in Lonehill, Wits Technikon, St. Andrews School, St. John's College and Parktown College. He assisted
Philippa Hobbs
Philippa Hobbs is a published South African art historian, an artist and an art collector. She was born in 1955 and matriculated at St Andrew's School in 1972. She studied art at the Johannesburg College of Art before finishing a post-graduate prin ...
as a technical printer, from 1993 to 1996.
John Moore's art
In addition to depictions of wildlife and the plight of endangered species, his work often also includes references to Southern Africa's ancient San- and Koi-
bushman
Bushman or bushmen may refer to:
* San people in Southern Africa
* The ''Hermit'', a figure in the Carnival of Satriano, know also as "bushman" or "treeman".
* Bushman (comics), a Marvel Comics supervillain
* Bushman (reggae singer) (born 1973) ...
conceptual
Conceptual may refer to:
Philosophy and Humanities
*Concept
*Conceptualism
*Philosophical analysis (Conceptual analysis)
*Theoretical definition (Conceptual definition)
*Thinking about Consciousness (Conceptual dualism)
*Pragmatism (Conceptual pr ...
point of view. His style contains elements of the
surreal
Surreal may refer to:
*Anything related to or characteristic of Surrealism, a movement in philosophy and art
* "Surreal" (song), a 2000 song by Ayumi Hamasaki
* ''Surreal'' (album), an album by Man Raze
*Surreal humour, a common aspect of humor
...
, tension between esoteric
polymorphism
Polymorphism, polymorphic, polymorph, polymorphous, or polymorphy may refer to:
Computing
* Polymorphism (computer science), the ability in programming to present the same programming interface for differing underlying forms
* Ad hoc polymorphis ...
and traditional naturalism which he believes allows the viewer to find their own interpretation of the work and allows it to speak to them personally.
Background
Having grown up in Johannesburg and spending many holidays in the bush, his interaction with the wildlife led to a growing desire to produce wildlife art depicting their interaction in nature. He chose the printmaking medium because it enables one to produce editions and therefore is accessible to more people.
He has donated funds to World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) and has created specific works for charity fund raising, e.g., Red Nose Day where the work was used as advertising on signboards throughout South Africa. He has also done a commission for Life Line. He completed a work for the