‘The style of no style’: Local artist Jahni Moore expanding reach

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - It’s one thing to be talented. It’s another to pass that talent on by inspiring others to find theirs.

For Black History Month, we're focusing on someone right here in our community making history that will leave a lasting impression for anyone who spots it for decades to come.

Today’s lesson: color theory. This is about mixing, blending and finding that colors evoke emotions in Jahni Moore’s art class at Lee High School.

“They ask me sometimes when I’m painting, ‘Well, how do you get this? How did you get that?’ Well, it’s almost like a cook. You get a good cook in the kitchen and ask about her recipes. She can’t tell you the recipe, a pinch of this, a dash of that, she just knows what tastes good. That’s what I’m trying to get them to,” said Moore.

He's been cooking up beautiful, thought-provoking images for some time.

Even before becoming an educator, as a talented Alabama A&M University art graduate.

“I told them I could either Xerox papers, I had an assistant-ship, or I could do something on campus that would have a lasting legacy long beyond me and us,” added Moore.

He's painted more than a dozen murals around campus. Most depict people of color, which is a conscious choice, even though Moore will joke that he has white paint too.

"Even though my images are people of color, my goal is to get people to transcend that part of it and see themselves as part of the common human story, not that it has to look you for you to appreciate it," explained Moore.

And his style? "As Bruce Lee said, the style of no style. But ultimately if you look at it right now, it's figurative because most of my work primarily contains images, imagery of people," said Moore.

Murals that are internationally known. He has more than a dozen around the city of Huntsville, including many you’ve walked by. Some rise high in Chicago or Seattle and as far as South America.

Inspiring people is his focus, whether it be students or a community needing new life.

This artist is moving into a former church at the corner of Oakwood Avenue and Davidson Street, a new studio.

It's fitting for this artist who could have become a preacher and he's hoping to have new followers.

“But artists have always done that. We’re like the Marines. We go into rough communities and they get transformed. Now I’m not saying I’m some Moses but I’m going to come in here and do what I do, and hopefully, it will create enough heat where it will catch fire,” said Moore.

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