BROOKLYN, NY, June 27, 2020 — As the publishing industry struggles to reinvent itself, amidst the added complication of a global pandemic, artist and author Rick Moss has developed an innovative approach for his latest book that not only announces a creative expansion of the art form, but may also offer inspiration for authors finding it harder to earn a living from their chosen profession.
Launching his venture on his new website (rickmoss.art), Moss is hoping to demonstrate how his hybrid “novel/art” concept can offer a “more enriching experience to reading a novel,” and one accessible to average readers and entry-level art collectors. Moss is offering copies of his new, self-illustrated novel, Impossible Figures, packaged with the purchase of his original artwork — limited edition prints and collages inspired by the artwork of his story’s main character.
“I see the effort as analogous to what has come to pass in indie music,” Moss says of his cross-merchandising strategy. “Bands are lucky if they can break even on album sales and performances. But if they’re clever they can do well adding in sales of related merch. It’s a branding strategy, sure, but it’s also a way to build a more meaningful artistic experience, which in a band’s case would be an album — and in mine, a novel.”
Moss says his experience with his first two books — Ebocloud (2013), a near-future thriller, and Tellers (2016), a collection of short stories nested in a novel — left him disenchanted with the traditional publishing model that he says “tolerates the artistic ambition of the author only to the extent that it serves profit objectives.” The shrinking book industry, he argues, is increasingly risk-averse, a condition now exacerbated by the impact of the coronavirus crisis. To that end, Moss is convinced the biggest loser is the reader.
“I’ve found myself thrust into the role of ‘rogue author,’” he explains, “arguing to publishers that the art form will die if not allowed to grow through new narrative forms. In our present situation, with bookstores shuttered and authors quarantined, the last thing a publisher is looking for is a new challenge. I knew it was time to take matters into my own hands.”
The darkly comic Impossible Figures employs multiple, looping narratives to unfold the tale of Ranger, a once-celebrated conceptual artist making a desperate comeback attempt. Ranger recruits Oscar Hiller, a self-destructive young physicist on the verge of a quantum theory breakthrough, to stage the most consequential art performance of all time — one that may unravel time and existence in the process.
In his online gallery, Moss is kicking off his campaign with a limited edition set of Impossible Figures serigraphs, produced by master printmaker Arturo Negrete Cuellar of Mexico City’s renown Taller 75 Grados studio. Moss also features a set of collages on wood panels for sale, and plans to roll out more artwork in coming weeks.
“I honestly didn’t happen on this idea until late in the writing process,” Moss says. "I had been sketching cubist figures at a time when my head was inside Ranger’s, my character. I wound up creating dozens of ‘impossible figures’ ink drawings, paintings and collages. Suddenly, it seemed a waste not to include them in the reading experience, so I designed the book around the drawings. It was only later that I began to think about supporting the project financially through sale of the artwork.”
Moss is a songwriter, as well, and offers a playlist of his tunes on the site for visitors to enjoy while browsing the online gallery and reading.
“The idea for my next project is triggered by a song I wrote,” he said, “so I hope to have a more complete integration of writing, art and music for my audience.”
For inquiries, please use the contact page or call: 973-941-5467
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About Rick Moss:
Rick Moss is a multi-disciplinary artist living in Brooklyn, New York. He studied painting and printmaking at The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and earned his degree at California College of the Arts. He devoted much of his career to design, including print, video, and web. He is a founding principle of the online business forum, RetailWire, where he oversees editorial and marketing content. He publishes his songwriting under the name, Rock Moses.
Ebocloud (2013), his first novel, published by Aqueous Books, is a near-future thriller about a massive social media movement. Cited at the time of its release for its predictions of a coming “social singularity,” it was included in the syllabus for a Duke University literature course, alongside William Gibson’s Neuromancer and Dave Eggers’ The Circle. It features a unique novel-within-a-novel structure.
Moss’s second book, Tellers (2016), stitches together a series of short stories with an overarching narrative thread. Bestselling author Ryan Mathews characterized Tellers as “a Matryoshka doll of a book—stories nesting inside stories nesting inside stories.”
