austin art

Artwork By Mike Johnston (The Day I Found Treasure At Austin Java)

Jude Galligan | April 10, 2012 |

On Saturday, I walked into Austin Java on 2nd Street, ’bout to get my omelet on. Chillaxin. There I was, standing in line, just looking around, and I realize that every piece of art work on the walls is making an impact on me.

A flyer taped to the wall explained most of the artwork was by Mike Johnston. Life surprised me with these paintings. All of them bringing a smile to my face. They put a skip into my step. 14 pieces in total. Each is repurposed scrap wood.

I purchased every piece in the store.

I couldn’t carry everything home, so I walked home beaming at my purchase, and returned later to pick up my treasure.

“Street art” is one of my favorite visual mediums. Bold, unexpected, high-contrast, ironic, symbolic, stylized, comical, etc. Some of my favorite “public art” is found on the Lady Bird Lake train overpass, the Lamar underpass, the wall on Castle Hill, the wall on E 5th Street near Saltillo Station.

I’ve seen Exit Through The Gift Shop, and am basically familiar with the work of Shepard Fairey and Banksy. Which makes me no more than a casual fan of a couple of notable artists.

I didn’t know about Mike until walking into Austin Java, and that’s part of what made this such a nice discovery. I’m excited to have a collection of local art work that totally vibes with me. I look at it and smile.

As I research and learn more about Mike and his work the more happy I am to be the newest host of these paintings – which will probably be on the walls of our soon-to-be-redone office (you should stop by in a few weeks to check it out). Until then, check out more of Mike’s work here.

http://www.offthawalls.blogspot.com

-Jude

Downtown Gets Magical This Weekend

Fred Schmidt | September 2, 2010 |

For something very fresh and different this weekend to drown our mundane laborous lives, check out these cool events on tap ’round the hood:

The 1St Annual Austin Street Magic Festival TONIGHT, 6th & Red River next to Esther’s Follies (home of our own fantabulous, Ray Anderson), 6pm-2am and FREE!

And that’s just the warm up.

For you uber fans of fun and illusion, there’s an entire gathering of renown magicians from across the lands assembling all weekend at the Austin Convention Center. Details here:

Austin 2010 TAOM — that’s the Texas Association of Magicians. Here is the TAOM Facebook page too.

Here’s a news story from News 8.

And also more info to be found on the pages of Austin corporate lawyer (but always a magician at heart — and skill), Hull Youngblood. You can check him out — and be his friend — via the TAOM Facebook link above!

Much fun for all so make like a bunny and vanish your abode already!

Artists Inspired By The 80’s: Free Exhibition at Domy Books

Jude Galligan | July 31, 2010 |

DAB fan Erin Portman sent this to us and we couldn’t resist showing some promo love. The upcoming “88” Event held at Domy Books on Sat., Aug. 7th from 7:00 – 10:00 p.m., is a free exhibition, organized by Andy Coolquitt, offers a view through the lens of 1988 in Austin to demonstrate how “we developed as a visual culture … what we’ve learned and what we’ve lost and where we need to go.”

As a child of the ’80s, it’s always interesting for me to look back at those years with the benefit of hindsight. Memories of Vision Street Wear and Hypercolor tee-shirts, jeans with tightly rolled cuffs, Michael Jordan, and ubiquitous Patrick Nagel fashion art posters hanging on the walls of bachelor pads around the country.

What were artists working on and exhibiting in the ’80s? Coolquitt continues… “My interest in this exhibition is to publicly celebrate these amazing people that I learned from, to provide a small glimpse into some of the ideas that were floating around 22 years ago, and to see what they are up to now.”

One of the artists, Elisa Jimenez’s – Project Runway alum, and named by Vogue as one of today’s emerging designers to watch – interactive show starts at Domy at 7 p.m. and will feature models unveiling her creations while transitioning the event into a raw and immediate parade to OKAY MOUNTAIN for a final runway-esque presentation at 9:30 p.m.

[flickr-gallery mode=”photoset” photoset=”72157624622595928″]

After “88”, on Sunday., Aug. 8 from 2 to 5 p.m., Jimenez will host a pop-up store at W3LL PEOPLE, located at 215 Lamar Blvd., featuring pieces from the Hunger World, her spontaneous couture and one-of-a-kind “ready-mades” of which she’s built her 14-year career. They are all hand wrought, hand drawn and imbibed with scented oils. Elisa’s celebrity clients include Marisa Tomei, Courtney Love, Cher, Sarah Jessica Parker, Lisa Bonet and Melissa Auf Der Maur, among others.

More details on this event are available at http://www.domystore.com.

Wallspace With Permission – Austin’s Untapped Canvas

Jude Galligan | June 23, 2010 |

After last night’s public briefing on the boardwalk design, i rounded the corner at city hall and noticed a painted wall with the website “placingroutes.org”. This morning I checked them out, and was delighted to discover what Placing Routes is about.

idea —> proposal —> permission —> realization

simply put, the business owner has a wall/space and the artist has an idea/concept. from there, a mural, a sculpture, a piece of art is born.

CASH mural at Wahoos. This awesome pic is from Austin Texas Daily Photo

Artists paired with buildings. Have an artistic idea for a wall space? Artist or building can bring an idea to the table. Take permanence off the table, and you open up a world of opportunity, especially in downtown Austin.

A few years back, I helped to launch Wallspace Media, an advertising company that did this with projection. We obtained permission to utilize wallspace, and did our thing. You see this with graffiti artists, too, who developed the concept of “permission walls”. Walk down E 5th, and across from Cafe Mundi you’ll see a massive amount of artwork on the back of an aging warehouse. All done with permission.

As you walk around town, you’ll notice the potential for this. Stark surfaces everywhere have the potential to bring vibrancy to the community, and energy to those who see it.