Rauno Thomas Moss

Rauno Thomas Moss (born 29 December 1977, Tallinn, Estonia) is an Estonian artist, graphic designer who is known by his series of black and white (aka Clinical), and autoerotic nude paintings. With echoes of 19th century medical operations, Moss exhaustively mines the intersection of his own childhood memories, and experiences in vivid and slightly dreamlike surrealistic alienation with narrative intent. The result is disturbing and memorable. He studied painting in University of Tartu under professor Jaan Elken.

Life

Rauno Thomas Moss grew up with his mother in Tartu in social of local cultural intelligence. He started studding art in 1993 entering to the Tartu Art school in major of sculpture which was changed within the year to subject of painting and design. In addition to painting, Moss’ also studied semiotics in University of Tartu (1998 – 2002) under professors Peeter Torop and Mihhail Lotman.

In August 2002, he became lecturer in arts at the Tartu University in Faculty of Philosophy, in Department of Arts (lectures in drawing, theory of composition and color) and in the Faculty of Medicine, in Department of Anatomy (lecture in human anatomy for artists). Moss also publishes articles and film reviews in local print media, and works in print design as freelancer artist-illustrator designing book and cd covers

Works

In painting “Moss’ belief into painting as medium, voyeurism, and describing the world with no empathy” are the important markers of quality. [Komissarov, Eha. Moss ja "Silent Tartu aka Clinical." Eesti Ekspress, Areen 01.02.2008 (Estonian).]

Rauno Thomas Moss is considered to be part of the Tartu school of painting (so named the School of Pallas), which traditions and history are growing out from the 1930s. But Moss’ works are characterized by a style that lies close to the aesthetics of advertisement, comics, graffiti, and urbanite art with interest to body modification, and not as much that humanistic bourgeoisie what the School of Pallas represents. His figures in the series of “Clinical” paintings are portrayed in surroundings in which gray skinned bodies and white sheets in dream like representation gives a feeling of burning fever. Moss’ autoerotic nude paintings are dealing with the personal affairs together with social identity in meditative and calm form that uses carefully the aesthetics of Nazi and homosexual art (Reliberation, 2008). Result is magazine cover or movie poster like images that still dig deeper under viewers skin than expected.

Rauno Thomas Moss has been named in Estonian media after his debut exhibition in Tallinn (January 2008 in gallery Vaal) as the leader of the new generation of Tartu painters. [Liivrand, Harry. Tartu ehk unbewusste Ängste. Eesti Ekspress, Areen 01.02.2008 (Estonian).]

References

External links

* Deviantart.com gallery of Rauno Thomas Moss works and favorites under the artist name xanq. [http://xanq.deviantart.com/]
* [http://www.hot.ee/draakonitapja/ Rauno Thomas Moss' character drawings for a motion picture]

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NAME=Moss, Rauno Thomas
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SHORT DESCRIPTION=Estonian artist
DATE OF BIRTH=1977
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DATE OF DEATH=
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