In case it wasn’t obvious from the lack of posts (sorry!), Austin Mural Project is on indefinite hiatus. Its curator has done the unthinkable, and accepted a job in Houston.
If anyone is interested in taking over, please e-mail AMP.tumblr [at] gmail
The iconic Hi, How Are You frog has survived changes in building ownership and continues to endure, a little worse for the wear.
The frog, known to some as Jeremiah the Innocent, is the work of musician Daniel Johnston. It first covered his 1983 album, and was painted on the building — then record store Sound Exchange - in 1993 (following a boost in popularity from when Kurt Cobain sported it on a T-shirt at the 1992 MTV awards).
Notable frog incidents include: In 2004, students and Austinites scaled the walls in protest after a Baja Fresh chain bought the location and was planning to remove it. The weirdos won. In 2010, red graffiti was removed after some back-and-forth between Crave Sushi and the city over whose responsibility it was.
Le Bonheur de Vivre, by Doug Jacques, 1998
Doug Jacques designed and executed this mural with the help of an ACC Mural Painting class. Check out the texture and detail work: so different from aerosol.
This one started it all, y’all.
Austintatious, by Kerry “Awn” Fitzgerald, Rick Turner, and Tom (“Tommy B”) Bauman. First painted in 1974 and redone in 1982 after vandalism, the mural has lived and grown up too: a 2002 update added new references.
It means a lot to a lot of people. Along with the partner panel that shows the state of Texas, the works define the 23rd St. Renaissance Market, and are part and parcel of the character of the Drag.
(Fun fact: the Austintatious Artists registered “Austintatious” as a trademark in 1974, but the registration was cancelled in 1982. The guys made it a comic before they made it a mural)
Collaboration done during SXSW 2008
by Antartican, for Fashion Vault, 2006
“Demon Shrimp Fest” by Lance Bradley, 2008
(Around the corner from Stage Fright)
Stage Fright, by Lance Bradley, 2008
(Attached around the corner to Demon Shrimp Fest)
We love Austin. And you can’t love Austin without loving the hundreds (thousands?) of pieces of public art that dot our city streets. Murals, street art, mosaics…we love them all and wanted to create a catalog of as many as we can. Do you know one of the artists? Tell us! We’d love to include information about the creators of these works and the stories behind them.
E-mail: AMP.tumblr [at] gmail [dot] com
