Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is a charcoal drawing by Jason Moran. It dates from 2016 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 2016, this drawing by Jason Moran is executed in charcoal and ink on a recycled piano roll, a narrow, perforated paper strip once used to operate mechanical player pianos. The work is part of The Museum of Modern Art’s collection. Its elongated format and weathered surface evoke both musical notation and discarded ephemera, merging sound history with visual abstraction.
Subject & Meaning
The piece resists clear narrative, instead presenting layered traces of gesture and erasure. Faint, illegible script merges with dense charcoal smudges, suggesting the remnants of thought, improvisation, or memory. The piano roll’s original function as a carrier of music becomes a metaphor for lost or fragmented expression, inviting reflection on how meaning decays over time.
Technique & Style
Moran applied charcoal and ink with varying pressure, creating areas of heavy shadow, delicate smudging, and partial erasure. The paper’s pre-existing perforations and textured surface interact with the medium, amplifying the sense of decay. The marks appear spontaneous, as if drawn in real time, reinforcing a sense of immediacy and impermanence.
History & Provenance
The piano roll paper originates from early 20th-century mechanical music systems, a material Moran frequently repurposes to bridge sonic and visual histories. Acquired by The Museum of Modern Art in 2016, the work entered the collection shortly after its creation, reflecting the institution’s interest in interdisciplinary practices that challenge traditional media boundaries.
Context
Moran, primarily known as a jazz pianist and composer, often integrates musical materials into his visual art. This work aligns with his broader practice of reanimating obsolete technologies to explore memory and cultural transmission. The use of piano rolls connects to his interest in how rhythm and improvisation can be translated beyond sound into physical form.
Legacy
The work contributes to a growing body of contemporary art that treats everyday, industrial materials as carriers of cultural memory. By elevating a discarded musical medium into a visual artifact, Moran prompts reconsideration of what constitutes artistic material and how history is preserved, or lost, in the margins of everyday objects.
Artist & collection
