Art to Table

The life cycle of art from the authentic, Austin artists to the local community and its people

By Mikayla Yu, Editor

AArtists use their job as an outlet for their emotions and stories but also as a platform to inspire and move people. Austin is a vibrant city and its culture has been able to shine through the many artists living in it. Murals can be seen on many buildings along the downtown streets and give the city its personality and funky charm. The Blanton Museum of Art is full of art from around the world and from local artists. It has been a point of connection in the Austin community with its diverse range of art and artists. Other artists like Vy Ngo and Beth Consetta Rubel display their art in galleries around the city that are able to reflect their stories in a more personal way. Both museums and galleries strive to display pieces that will resonate with their viewers and leave a lasting impression.

Artist Beth Consetta Rubel works with others more closely by drawing portraits of people in her Paper Bag Test series. It consists of candid drawings on paper bags of African-Ameri- can people that she started over ten years ago. It was based on a discriminatory practice where Black people’s skin tone was compared to a paper bag which gave them certain privileges depending on if they were lighter or darker.

“The biggest influence on my art is connect ing with people and hearing their per sonal narrative so that I can get an idea of who they are. Whenever you look at my work, there are the celebrity portraits and the portraits I do of real people, and there is a big difference when I look at them. In the ones where I am inter viewing the person, it has more of an impact be cause I am thinking of their story while I do their artwork.”

When she was growing up, Rubel had many experiences with racism, especially as a biracial woman in Texas.

“I had a lot of professors tell me I was not black enough to do the work I was doing… It was the catalyst that made me research ‘What makes someone