We have learned of the passing of local artist Michael Moody …
We would like to ask the creative community to join us in remembering Michael as a great artist, friend, family member, as someone who has deeply touched our hearts.
As winter was coming to an end, Michael was getting ready to participate in the Art on Parade program at the Home & Garden Show next month. He expressed a great interest in joining fellow local artists in promoting his artwork, and we were looking forward to learning more about his latest masterpieces and community engagements.
All of us at American Rupite are deeply saddened by his sudden passing. We hope that Michael’s spirit will be with us during this event as he was one of the founding artists and in fact, the opening artists during the inaugural edition of Art on Parade in 2013.
Let us remember Michael Moody – the artist, the friend, the family member, the man who shared his heart and passion about art with so many of us…
Let us remember:
– His business card read: “Making some history and leaving a legacy”
– Michael was proud to be one of the featured artists in the 2013 Parade Of Homes, Art on Parade program, together with artists Maria Rizzo, Matthew Davis and Kristina Starowitz. He said: “I’m very prideful of the fact that I have a skill no one can take from me. No budget cuts can shut me down. It doesn’t mean I’m not always searching for art related endeavors but my art gives me status in my community.”
– Michael Moody worked as photographer at age 16 for The Liberated Voice. The Liberated Voice was one of Syracuse’s first African American newspapers in the 1960s.
Moody attended and graduated from Florida A&M. He said: “When I was turned down for graduate school at Syracuse University, I decided to put myself through graduate school-canvas after canvas. I was my own teacher. I experimented but oil on canvas was at the top of the heap.”
We remember Michael Moody and the colors of his multi-ethnic art. His fun and colorful works and lively discussion grabbed everyone who entered the Parade of Homes. We remember one of Michael’s painting for the Art on Parade, a painting we called The Black Magic Woman. To us, she is much more than a colorful painting. Michael captures our imagination with the images she inspires. We can hear the rhythm of her music and feel her past revealed in it. She enchants us with her vibrant colors and memorizes us with her dance as she plays under a crescent moon, interestingly, during the light of day. Through this Black Magic Woman and through the many paintings Michael left us, we will remember him…
Thank you for the many colorful stories you shared with us, Michael!
Editor Note:
Cover photo is Michael Moody’s iconic Westcott Mural at the corner of Westcott and beach Streets. This mural has become a gateway to the “Westcott Nation” commercial district.
