Keep Austin Colorful

KEEP AUSTIN

New York at Night by Max Weber, 1915.

SPRING 2023

As editors of Keep Austin Colorful, we all strive to make this magazine as positive of an experience as possible for all readers, whether that’s through vivid graphics or interesting writing. We hope you’re able to find a topic of interest in these pages and enjoy our first publication.

Throughout this magazine you’ll find us focusing on a few different topics surrounding art in and Austin. We start with a look into the people that make this project possible, the artists of Austin. After that, we dig deeper into art programs and institutions, then museums and how people can get connected to art. We wrap it up with a focus on murals and graffiti, a very noticeable scene in a city like ours. In addition to these feature stories, there are some infographics and visuals about various subjects spread through the pages that we hope you find helpful.

As a team of four editors, we work together to make all of these components. In the end, we each aim to have 4 pages of feature story and 2 of an infographic, but we are learning these skills as we create our elements. Because of this, the creation process includes a lot of changes and cleaning up as we get more proficient at the various skills needed. Some of the steps we’re going through are getting our images, writing the articles, designing logos, figuring out the logistics, like fonts, and getting used to working as a cohesive team as we grow and overcome obstacles on the way to publication.

There have been many ups and downs in this process. We all have our own strengths, and as we’ve found the balance between our members, we have created a truly unique magazine. Some highlights we hope you check out as you read, are first and most prominently, the title design found on the cover. Both the name of the magazine and the actual visual design took a good bit of brainstorming and we’re very happy with the product. In addition, we’ve created a logo that really brings our publication together and gives it life.

We struggled quite a bit as we hit new obstacles and smaller projects. Getting all of our interviews with unique individuals that had interesting stories and words to share was the biggest issue. Many people didn’t respond, and many interviews had to be held digitally to align with everyone’s schedule. As we waited for those who did respond, we were often working on many components at once. We all have our different tactics for dealing with work, but we have all had to learn the balance and organize all of our tasks and deadlines.

We couldn’t have made this magazine without each other. We stuck together as a team through the highs and the lows and we all brought skills to the table that make this magazine even better. Hopefully, you learn something new, but whether you’re just paging through and maybe notice a cool graphic, or if you’re doing some thorough research on the topics we’ve covered, we are all truly thankful that you are taking the time to give our hard work a chance.

Sincerely,

Calum, Wren, Kalina, and Angela

Photo courtesy of Matt Robson

4 8 10 14 16 22 26

Crafting a Career Sources of Income

20

Making an Artist

What Art You Making?

Mastering Museums

Most Visited Art Museums and Galleries in Austin

Murals and the Morals

Where

Artists Find Inspiration

Cover designs by Kalina Rabb and Angela Bryan

Inner cover pattern by Kalina Rabb

Letter from the editors by Calum Grieve

Table of contents and team bios by Wren Knight

Special thanks by Calum Grieve

Team Bios

Kalina Rabb

Kalina Rabb tells us about art museums and how they influence people’s connection with art itself. In her free time, she enjoys drawing, knitting, and writing. After graduating, she wants to go to university and do something in the medical field. Along with this, she enjoys baking, finding it easier to make cakes taste good, rather than look good.

Calum Grieve Calum Grieve’s feature story is about students and staff within art programs at the University of Texas at Austin. During his free time, Calum likes playing tennis and singing in choir. After graduation, Calum wants to go to university, and he plans to go into a scientific field.

Wren Knight Wren Knight is writing about the experiences of muralists and graffiti artists in Austin, as well as the muralist community. In their free time, Wren enjoys playing ultimate frisbee, making art, and listening to music. After graduation, Wren wants to get out of Texas and go somewhere they can scuba dive and be self-sufficient.

Angela Bryan

Angela Bryan focuses on the artists of Austin and their stories; how they got to be successful, why they started doing art, and everything in between. In her free time, Angela is a fan of the arts and hanging out with her cat. She enjoys traditional art as well as playing piano. Angela doesn’t have any set in stone plans post-graduation, but she hopes to continue on their artistic path.

Austin artists’ journeys through their art career

by Angela Bryan

tarting out as an artist can be a challenging, confusing, and uncertain experience, but through a steady process, a hobby can blossom into a living. Paper artist Amanda Witucki, who has been living in Austin since 2011, described her experience through her art career in a similar way.

“I’ve been trying to do it (building a career around art) pretty much since I’ve lived here in Austin,” Witucki said. “I always kind of had that as a

calling, I always wanted to do that, I’ve always been creative.”

Witucki started out with a business in wedding decor along with her friend about a year after she moved. When her wedding business ended in 2015, she knew she wanted her next job to be something creative. With suggestions from her friend, she started selling artwork online.

“I just sold through Instagram, and kind of figured out what I need to do, contacting galleries, and then it took off in 2020,” Witucki said.

Witucki currently sells paper ornaments, accessories, and other

decor. She has also done work with large-scale installations.

Austin Painter Laree Evelyn had a somewhat different experience. With an interest in art as a kid, she started painting about three years ago. Though she enjoyed art classes when she was young, she didn’t expect for it to become her career. Her current painting style mainly

Amanda Witucki

Paper artist Amanda Witucki working on a paper ornament for a project. Paper is Witucki’s primary art medium. Photo courtesy of Clark Underwood.

features compositions of solid shapes on canvases, paper, prints, and occasionally murals. She has a background in law, but she got into painting towards the beginning of the pandemic.

“I started dealing with a bunch of emotional stuff that I had been putting on the backburner and didn’t want to deal with,” Evelyn said.

During isolation, she realized this was something to address.

“I had a hard time with it, and it was really traumatic for me. And so I started painting as a way to cope with it,” Evelyn said.

She essentially started selling her art as a way to pay for therapy. Two years later, she decided to go full-time with her painting. Her painting style really developed when faced with her emotional situation, painting these giant shapes helped her to feel calm and centered. She got into the art world primarily through Instagram and other social media platforms, and was able to start selling some of her art through a friend who worked at art markets.

Painter Danika Ostrowski had also had an interest in art since she was very young, and had always wanted it to be a part of her career somehow.

She primarily paints landscapes and other forms of nature.

“I wasn’t sure I wanted to pursue a career as an independent artist until I was in college. I initially wanted to study animation and design. The artistic side of those jobs appealed to me. I don’t think it ever occurred to me that I could have a whole career based around making my own art until I was in school and had several professors who had done just that,” Ostrowski said.

dillustrations (Title unknown) Courtesy

I feel like when you paint what you love, people that also love it will find it.

-Laree Evelyn, painter

Courtesyof

Laree Evelyn.

CourtesyofDanika Ostrowski.

CourtesyofAmanda Witucki.

Laree Evelyn

Danika Ostrowski

After graduating, she rented an art studio and began to look for opportunities. She started selling art and appearing in shows, and had built a website. During the pandemic, Ostrowski started teaching online workshops, and enjoyed teaching about color theory and painting.

“It’s really been sort of a snowball effect. Slowly over time, the more people who saw or bought my work the more opportunities came my way.” Ostrowski said.

Artist Joel Ganucheau (@joelganucheau on Instagram) likewise always had a interest in arts and knew it would be his primary pursuit. Ganucheau is a co-owner of the Austin Art Garage, (www.ArtGarage.com)

“I played in lots of bands in highschool and in my 20s. I always loved designing all of the artwork for my bands,” Ganucheau said.

“I always sort of assumed I would have some kind of computer based graphic design job or my own screen printing shop, but it sort of morphed into my art career as a painter, and I like it.”

Ganucheau was 30 years old when he sold his first painting for 60 dollars at an art show in 2007. He switched to becoming a full time artist in 2009. His friend came up with an idea for the both of them to sell local art online that was both tasteful and affordable. This became the Austin Art Garage.

“I found a cheap little space for rent on S. Lamar Blvd and rolled the dice and signed a one year lease and never looked back,” Ganucheau said.

Starting and building a business does have its difficulties, however.

“I would say the biggest obstacle is, I didn’t go to school for it,” Witucki said. “So I’m trying to teach myself how to do it. I’m just following galleries to get

what artists they like, finding all these different artists in Austin, watching their path and who they apply to, and then learning about the different calls for art. So I’m constantly trying to educate myself.”

Even with said obstacles, Witucki feels that she is extremely lucky.

“All my friends are artists, and I mean, we all struggle. But I’ve gotten a lot of handouts, I feel like I’ve been very blessed,” Witucki said. “It’s hard because I’m working all the time, but I enjoy it. I enjoy the business aspect of it, the marketing aspect of it, and I know

I’ve gotten lucky and I always honor that.”

Evelyn experienced a similar issue, but more so because she was relatively new to the art world.

“For a long time, I felt very out of place in the art world, and I think that was probably a big part of the challenge, was figuring out the right words, and the right tools and techniques, and who to speak to. It was a lot all at once.” Evelyn said.

Although for Evelyn, her emotional state was the main difficulty to overcome.

Laree Evelyn holdingher piece, Building Blocks. Courtesy of Laree Evelyn.

“For me, the hard part was, I was going through so much emotional stuff that- now that I’m three years into it, looking back, I wish I had set things up a bit differently.” Evelyn said. “Like with a bit more structure originally.”

After stepping into the art world and beginning to make money, she had some difficulty with finding confidence in her work as well, especially since she didn’t have much background in art.

“I didn’t feel very confident in what I could offer people, and it seemed so casual and easy to me.” Evelyn said. “it was hard for me to feel confident enough to charge higher prices, or to bring it to new people.”

Self doubt seems to be an apparent factor when starting anew with a business.

“Self doubt is definitely a thing. The key is to not let it occupy too much real estate in your head,” Ganucheau said. “Just keep making art and don’t stop. I’m a firm believer that if you work hard and stick with something long enough, it’ll work out.”

Ostrowski found figuring out and deciding where to start to be not so much of a difficulty, but a learning curve. However, she did not find starting out as an artist in particular to be generally difficult.

“I don’t think I would say that. At its core, an artist makes art. Turning that into a business is where things can start to be difficult, but I started really small with achievable goals and just went from there.” Ostrowski said.

Once a career is built, more and more ideas and opportunities may pop up. Witucki has been thinking about expanding her career.

“I’m trying to get more into galleries, and learning the process of that.” Witucki said. “I’d like to be a career artist, I’d like to have more gallery shows and go more than just in Austin.”

Evelyn has similar plans, especially with pursuing art as a more long-term career.

“What I want to start doing is more gallery stuff, I want to start putting my work in galleries and charging higher prices for it. So now that I understand a bit more of how it works, that’s the goal, to continue with this long term,” Evelyn said. “You just got to ride it out, you just gotta go ready to go, you got to make the mistakes you’re gonna make and see where life takes you.”

Courtesy of Joel Gancheau.

f c Joel Ganucheau

Courtesy of Danika Ostrowski.

Where Creators get tHe Cash

A look into the sources of income for visual artists

graphics by Wren Knight

Side Jobs

Even when utilizing all of these sources, artists may need to get side jobs in order to make ends meet

In-Person Sales

Some artists sell products and gain exposure by running art booths or getting in galleries

Making an Artist

By Calum Grieve

very year, students and staff in the College of Fine Arts at the University of Texas at Austin live and breathe their art. They wake up to go to lectures, study art history, or make their own projects throughout the week.

The College of Fine Arts at the university has over 2,000 students and houses many programs, such as visual arts, musical arts, theater, dance and creative technologies. The college’s visual arts can be found in the Department of Art and Art History and the School of Design and Creative Technologies, the latter only having recently joined the College of Fine Arts, being founded in 2017.

Susan Rather, a professor

of art history, was named chair of the Department of Art and Art History in 2020, after being interim chair for a year. Over the last four years, being chair has taught her to be flexible.

“I had no real preparation for being chair of this department,” Rather said. “I’d never supervised anybody, never managed budgets, or anything like that.”

Rather has seen the department through its ups and downs while handling COVID and learning the ropes of being chair. In the last two years, Rather has learned to be adaptable and be prepared for something unexpected to crop up at any time.

“It’s a constantly challenging job that requires the chair to be always on her toes,” Rather said, “always thinking, always trying to find ways

to improve processes, to provide clarification about things that are unclear.”

Rather appreciates it though, because she likes having a job that interests her while also giving her a challenge

In addition to her duties as chair, Rather must also make herself available for her students. Kate Catterall, an associate professor of design who has been at UT for 20 years now, helping to build up the university’s design program, also often works with her students, and she loves it. Each year she meets new students with unique and ambitious ideas that help keep the program fresh and her job exciting every year.

“It keeps you young, it’s like eternal youth, you’re talking about new ideas all the time, with younger

Kate Catterall researches and designs projects of her own while she teaches at the University of Texas at Austin. In spring 2022, along with a small team, she drew out the “Ring of Steel”, four checkpoints that marked entrances and exits to the center of Belfast during the Troubles Photo courtesy of Kate Catterall

From management to students, the work that gets put in to make the next generation of creatives at the University of Texas at Austin.

and younger people,” Catterall said.

Originally, Catterall worked as a practicing designer in the United Kingdom. However, after a short period as a professor, she realized loved working in design programs at universities.

“It’s like an extended period of graduate school, working with your colleagues and collaborating with them,” Catterall said, “you get to do all these fun projects, experiment with ideas, and question the future of your discipline, so lots of speculative work, which sometimes happens in practice, but less so.”

Professors are always busy with work, and often also keep their students busy as well. Cameron Wesley, a design student at the University of Texas at Austin, always has a project or assignment to be working on.

“I’d say a solid two hours a day,” Wesley said.

Wesley also has a few classes every day.

“Usually I’ll wake up around 11 or 12, hop on zoom, go through a lecture, and then around two to five I’ll usually have another studio course,” Wesley said. “And then I do have one in-person class at five to eight on Tuesdays and Thursdays.”

Professors that teach these classes must spend time getting ready for the class. Catterall prepares her lectures for the week ahead and grades during the weekend.

“I will spend probably … about three hours a week prep once I have everything established,” Catterall said.

Additionally, Catterall has meetings with her department every Wednesday for three to five

hours. Professors also have to go to conferences across the globe to make sure the university is present in many disciplines world wide. Post-pandemic, some are via zoom meetings, which helps to lighten her workload.

In a fine arts program, students expect to creatively express themselves while challenging themselves by using new techniques. They may be surprised that this isn’t always the case. Wesley thinks most of the time, they aren’t able to creatively express themselves properly because of the amount of creative freedom they are given.

“I think that sometimes the professors either give us … too little freedom to where we either don’t know what to do, or don’t give us enough freedom and we have to make something that we don’t really care about,” Wesley said.

Though they may not always succeed, the professors try to work unique ways to allow students to creatively express themselves. Catterall wants to make

sure her projects encourage students to think both creatively and critically as much as possible.

“I am teaching a course on designing a souvenir for your hometown at the moment,” Catterall said.

The project is meant to create something special for students’ hometowns while also preventing their personal biases from getting in the way of making what their client wants. It is also structured in a way that forces them to take charge. They need to know what the project needs and guide the client along that

process.

The creative input of a class can vary from teacher to teacher, depending on their preferred teaching style. Even students taking the exact same class as one of their peers may experience different styles of classes. Wesley works in studios for many of his classes, such as Objects and Spaces, which was the first class where he really learned to use most of the labs and spaces available to him.

“I would say that most of the classes are studio based, and they’re

It keeps you young, it’s like eternal youth, you’re talking about new ideas all the time, with younger and younger people”

- Kate Catterall,

Associate Professor of Design

Professor Susan Rather (second from the right) can often be found in meetings with her faculty and staff. This takes up a large amount of her time each week. Photo courtesy of Susan Rather

more just like projects,” Wesley said. “Every two, three weeks we’ll have a new project to be working towards that’ll be teaching us some type of skill.”

First year programs at the university, such as the First-Year Core Program in the Department of Art History, are designed to get every student on the same level of skill while also acting as a way for students to meet other students with similar interests to them. Outside of these programs and other basic classes, arts students continue to develop new skills every year. Art and design are both very volatile professions, with constantly changing demands and trends. Learning new things every year helps to prepare students to be flexible in the real world.

“I think there should be

something new at every level in every course, even your senior course,” Catterall said.

At a university typically thought of for its status as a highly ranked research university, the fine arts department may feel out of place and like they are not as high of a priority to the university administrators as STEM programs are.

“I think that people in my department, or even my whole college, which is the College of Fine Arts … have been over many years … concerned that we are not as visible to top administrators or that what we do is not taken as seriously, as say, what an engineer, or a chemist, or let’s say people broadly in STEM fields do,” Rather said.

Some students have to purchase their own materials, unlike other fields, which typically get university supplied materials. Students also agree that it appears they might not be as visible, noticing that if their

peers’ department has issues, they seem to be solved faster than their own department’s.

“If we have a problem, it’s definitely not solved as quickly as, say, like my girlfriend, she’s an engineer,” Wesley said. “They have everything they could need over there.”

UT prides itself on its engineering program, and might be more focused on it than on some others, such as the arts programs. Even with these visibility problems, UT arts students still have vast amounts of resources available to them. Rather believes that the faculty, who can give guidance to their students, are the one of the most important resources for students.

“The faculty is a resource, the students have each other as resources, and all kinds of organizations,” Rather said.

Faculty can help students with projects or papers, as well as advise students as they write their thesis if

Alongside teaching, Kate Catterall makes herself available to students outside of class. She does everything she can to ensure her students succeed. Photo courtesy of Kate Catterall

they are in a postgraduate program. In addition to UT’s standard libraries, students have access to the Fine Arts Library, which contains collections of resources on various branches of fine arts.

“They have incredible libraries and digital resources for databases and whatnot,” Catterall said.

Design students have access to the art building for art supplies. They can also use Anna Hiss Gym for better tools and machines than they have in their own shops, but it isn’t as easily accessible.

“We have a wood shop, we have a design lab which houses art supplies for the most part, cutting boards, a lot of print and letter press

stuff,” Wesley said.

These shops are readily available for students to work in during the day. Also available to design students are fabrication labs, with 3D printers, laser cutters, and CNC cutters, another form of precise cutting machines.

When you boil it down to its basics, university students are learning skills that they will need for the rest of their lives. Catterall wants

Sources: University of Texas at Austin, Drawing the Ring of Steel

to take it a step further, using her classes to teach her students design philosophy that applies also to life.

“What you can do is pick and choose from a variety of methods that you come across in your lifes,” Catterall said. “But there’s no one right way.”

Although he’s a design student, Cameron Wesley can often be found playing his guitar outside of class. He wants to use what he’s learning at the University to design concert halls. Photo courtesy of Cameron Wesley

What Art You Making?

60 students from Austin from grades 9-12 were surveyed on their favorite visual arts medium

# 1 # 2 # 3

Pencil Drawing

“You can make images that are so complex with only one tool.”

-Matthew Robson, 9th Grade

Pencil drawing is the most commonly used form of art worldwide. It is the most accessible art form, and is commonly used to sketch out a project using other mediums before starting it.

Painting

“For me, painting is a way to get lost in time and relieve stress despite everything else going on in the outside world.”

-Mia Lopez, 9th Grade

Painting is one of the oldest forms of art! It typically uses a brush of some form and a liquid-based, pigmented material as paint. There are many types of paints, including oil, acrylic, and water color, to name a few.

Digital Art

“I like digital art because I don’t have to be perfect at anything, because the computer can do it for me.”

-Owen Huels, 9th Grade

Digital art is any and all art made on a digital platform. Digital art had its origin in the 1960’s but has only recently exploded in popularity.

Graphics By Calum Grieve

Sculpting

“I love working with texture, form, and color to create a piece that can be viewed from any perspective.”

-Sofia Francis, 11th Grade

Sculpting uses soft and malleable materials like clay to create 3D pieces of art. You can make a large variety of things with clay, but pottery is the most common example.

Needleworking

“I find textiles ... to be very tactile and slow, which helps with anxiety.”

-Renee Breaux, 10th Grade

Needleworking is the use of a needle of some sort along with thread in order to decorate a textile. Needleworking can be used to add designs to things like clothes, accessories, and bedding.

Photography

# 4 # 5 # 6 # 7

Fashion Design

“Clothes are something everyone wears ... so it’s fun to take that basic human need and elevate it.”

-Lucy Farrow, 9th Grade

Fashion design is the creation of clothes and accessories for others to wear. There are two categories of fashion design, haute couture, which is custom fitted, and ready to wear, which comes in standard sizes.

“Photography captures a sense of realism that no other art form can. It captures a moment as it is.”

-JC Ramirez, 12th Grade

Photography records light through a lens, either digitally or onto a film. Photography was invented in the 1820’s by a French inventor, and was picked up and developed by other Europeans shortly after his death.

Sources: MadhansArt, Art in Context, The Art Career Project, JD Institute of Fashion Technology, Minted

Mastering Museums

By Kalina Rabb

How artistic institutions can help people feel more connected to themselves and each other

aría Emilia Fernández, assistant curator at the Visual Arts Center in Austin, said that art has always been a fundamental part of human society, allowing people to gain a deeper understanding of themselves and others. Austin is a very artistic city, rich with culture and creativity.

Museums, galleries, and

other exhibitions have a large influence on the art scene of the city, and these places can provide an area for artists, those who enjoy art, collectors, and passerby alike.

“I think that when you go into a museum and you see a beautiful work of art or a work of art that you find disturbing,” Fernández said. “It can be anything that really moves you.

The atrium of the Blanton Museum of Art. A giant art piece by Thomas Glassford titled Siphonophora hangs from the window-laden ceiling.

You can profoundly hate it, even. It’s teaching you something about you that you then get to carry with you once you leave the museum.”

Fernández said that spaces like these can also be intimidating, as many are conditioned to being quiet or thinking that they need to love everything they see, or that if they don’t understand a work, then they might not be smart enough to be there.

“I think that we’re very conditioned to see and behave in certain ways inside museums and galleries, people tend to be quiet. It’s not a space for children, it’s not a space oftentimes for people in wheelchairs. Like it’s really dictating the kind of viewing for a model spectator, which we can begin to question that as well,” she said.

We can definitely develop a companionship with works of art, and they’ll begin to tell more about us than we might think.”

unapproachable.

Part of it is knowing when and how to engage with people and when to allow them to view installations on their own.

“Maybe you have no idea what this is about, but can we tell you something about it that makes it more interesting, but we also don’t want to hit you over the head and force you,” said Edwards. “It’s always a dance. How do you lure people in, let them enjoy it, but then be there as a resource if they have more questions?”

Explaining pieces to adults is different than for kids, said Edwards. One approach to this issue is used by the UMLAUF. They have one tour guide that entertains and explains for the adults and another that works with kids and asks questions that allow them to interpret their own meaning from each sculpture.

Another factor is how people have been raised to interpret and ask questions about their surroundings. As Fernández said,

“It’s just striking to see that younger kids have a way better grasp on how to ask questions from true curiosity and then as adults kind of grow up,” Fernández said, “it’s as though the fear of saying something wrong has completely taken over completely.”

or being allowed to scribble with colors, said Fernández. Through art, a kid learns about everything around them, and if they aren’t able to think creatively, problem-solving becomes extremely difficult.

“Art literally encompasses everything: history, philosophy, religion, science and technology,” said Edwards.

Fernández and current executive director and curator at the UMLAUF Sculpture Garden, Katie Edwards, said that many places, such as the Visual Arts Center and the UMLAUF Garden, are attempting to break down barriers like those that make these spaces seem so

Edwards, too, believes that many people avoid asking questions that might make them seem dumb or ignorant.

Children ask many questions because that’s what they need to do to learn, and even if people don’t notice it at first, many children are taught using art, such as picture books, paintings,

- María Emilia Fernández, curator at the Austin Visual Arts Center

LadyHamilton by George Romney, 1791 The Truant by R a n d lo hp R o g e r s,

“Because of the trajectory of art now, so many artists are working exclusively in STEAM, in science, technology, engineering, art and mechanics. So it really is the backbone of everything.”

Edwards continued that creativity promotes not only problem-solving, but also companionship, confidence, and open expression. Indecisiveness can stem from insecurity and fear, and more creativity in a place can help to make the people there more confident and open-minded, which can lead to more peaceful lives for everyone. Someone can look at a piece of art and think to themself that they are human, the person who made that piece is human, and therefore they can look past the exterior of the work and feel

humans. And sometimes language doesn’t quite fit it,” said Public Relations and Media Manager of the Blanton Museum of Art, Katie Bruton. With everything going on in the world right now, art and innovative thinking are needed now more than ever, said Edwards. Art also provides humans with rich emotional experiences, and many are drawn to visual arts, music, theater, poetry, and more. Fernández added that seeing and interacting with these pieces allows people to think from new perspectives and form new ideas. It’s also subjective, meaning nearly anything can be art, she said.

“For me, it’s almost as though the importance of art is not what happens inside galleries and museums, but what you get to take away and then keep with you outside,” she said. “If that means really appreciating the way that light comes through in the morning in your room, that’s already an aesthetic experience that can move things within you without the need to be standing in front of a Van Gogh painting.”

Bruton believes that creativity can also allow for a release of stress, and viewing art can make someone feel more at ease. It also encourages thinking “outside the box”, which can bring about solutions and ideas that otherwise would not have existed, said Edwards.

“I think creativity allows us also to think about things differently, not just the way that we’re told, which is really the hardest, hardest thing, because we go through school and we go to museums and we get taught

what things are supposed to be and how we’re supposed to behave,” said Fernández. “And this kind of schooling is great for knowledge, but sometimes I think it’s a harder job to try to think, how are we going to be happy?”

Edwards said that galleries can also make people share their views as they stand in front of a piece. One person may find it wonderful and another may find it bland, then they can explain their perspectives, and therefore learn more about each other, she said.

“We are a sculpture garden of figurative art, which a lot of people have very strong opinions about, and they will say it immediately,” said Edwards. “If we were abstract art, that would also be a really good telltale. Like, what is that? My child could paint that. Think about it. So it works both ways. People go, oh, I love this. This is so beautiful. This nude woman

CharlesUmlauf ,

St. Michael and Lucifer

So it really is provocative, which it should be.”

A person’s subconscious plays heavily into their reactions. “I think this is the way art works,” said Edwards. “It affects things we can’t even identify.”

Edwards also believes that art allows for many more opportunities to understand other people and their viewpoints. Architecture, clothing, advertising, style choice, interior design, teaching, and even technology is dependent on artists and other creative minds, she said.

“It teaches you a lot about emotion. With art, you get to experience something else, and you get to experience someone else’s emotions. … in many ways, it’s their way of seeing the world,” said Bruton.

In such a polarized world, humans need to be creative now more than ever. Art is a medium that allows for communication with few or without words as long as people agree that they want to try and converse through it. Creators often put aspects of their surroundings into their pieces, and many artworks can transcend language and belief barriers and bring people together.

“I’m still struck by people who have profound reactions to some of the sculptures in the garden that I wouldn’t have thought of because I see them all the time. But perhaps they happen to be Catholic and they are really strongly moved by the Pietà. Perhaps they are secular and they are really moved by the Pietà because of the human emotion. You don’t have to know the religious story to see that.”

- Katie Edwards, executive director and curator at the UMLAUF Sculpture Garden

The inside of the architecture piece Austin by Ellsworth Kelly, stationed at the Blanton Museum of Art. The brightly colored windows create a beautiful array of light when the sun hits them.

Seated Bather byCharlesUmlau f, 1963

MOST VISITED ART MUSEUMS AND GALLERIES IN AUSTIN

Austin is known for its arts and music-based culture, and it is home to many museums and galleries. In a survey, high school freshmen in Austin were asked where they had visited during 2022 (multiple answers allowed). We had 48 responses, with 56.3% saying they had visited some sort of museum or gallery.

The Blanton Museum of Art at UT Austin was the most visited with 44.8% of the repondants having gone there.

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The Contemporary Austin (TCA) - Jones Center tied for second with Laguna Gloria20.7% of people said they had visited.

Laguna Gloria was tied with TCA - Jones Center20.7% of respondants had visited.

Wonderspaces17.2% of respondants said they had visited.

The Visual Arts Center at UT Austin10.3% of respondants said that they had visited.

Graphics by Kalina Rabb

Murals & the Morals

By Wren Knight

How Austin street art is made and managed, and the ways it affects city culture

urals aren’t exactly subtle, especially in Austin. These creations are a representation of the culture throughout the city. Beyond that, their addition to Austin’s artistic community is one of the most accessible wherever you are.

Sometimes murals are small commissions by a business, like in the

case of Samantha Kool and her building where she had a mural done in order to protect it from tagging and to add to the artistic presence in the area. Others are huge, intricate works that have a greater meaning or lesson within the layers of paint.

Regardless, they are sure to spice up any walk through downtown

Austin, explained local muralist Bill Tavis.

“One thing that drew me to murals is just the size of it. You get a lot of visual impact, and then also just the physicality of actually doing it,” Tavis said.

“It’s one thing to sit at the computer or to sit at an easel. But it’s another thing to actually stand in front of a wall

Wildfower mural done by Bill Tavis when it was in progress on Wood Hollow in Austin, TX. This is one of Tavis’s biggest projects and this illustrates the process and scale of the work. Courtesy of Bill Tavis.

and climb up on a ladder and reach.”

Tavis explained that it’s common for artists to be forced to do murals for free or for a reduced price to get practice and experience in the field.

Because of this, it’s difficult for artists to make a living off of murals alone.

Despite the difficulty of getting settled originally, mural artists are committed to achieving

“It’s like that’s a good way for anybody to build a portfolio. But the unfortunate thing about Austin is that there are enough hungry artists willing to do that, that once you have a portfolio and you’re ready to get paid now, all these other people, they wanna do it for free”

the best possible product for the community, utilizing many different approaches depending on the project and location. This happened when Tavis painted a mural on a retaining wall along Wood Hollow Drive.

Making a mural isn’t just about the paint. Although some are practical, almost all murals have a greater meaning behind them. A great example of this is an organization called Raasin in

These are some of the murals you can find in downtown Austin on North Lamar . This is part of a big collaboration between many artists that worked together to make a large and meaningful mural. Photo by Wren Knight.

- Bill Tavis, Muralist

the Sun (RITS), a multicultural art nonprofit organization centered around art that has put many murals into action while also taking part in lots of activism.

Renee Chen, a coordinator and member of the RITS creative team said “we’re committed to representing people and people’s creative works that is inclusive to all different types of people, and especially for women and people of color.”

Chen and RITS work with many artists, as well as with the community to remain a dedicated, sustainable presense in the area. Organizations like this are the foundation for many Austin murals, including a large

piece on Bolm Road that features 14 installations made to represent the area’s culture.

However, this isn’t the only way that murals come to be. A lot of the murals you see on businesses or non-city owned properties are commissioned by locals like Kool. “Murals well done on a building are interesting, they dress it up, they give it a story. They make it unique, and all of those things are good to me,” said Kool.

In addition to her appreciation of murals, she was pushed to commission a mural by the near constant tagging done to her building. Kool was forced to get the graffiti cleaned

very to keep her tenants happy, but after many cleanings, she decided to take the artistic path. Since the mural was completed, Kool has had no further issues with tagging on her building.

Tagging isn’t just an issue for private commissions or blank buildings. Tavis’ wildflower mural on Wood Hollow also suffered from it. “That one gets tagged pretty often, like

every few months, and I think it’s just that- that kind of second level flat part is like a hang out spot for kids, and they’re

“

I try to always have in mind who’s seeing it, and what I’m saying to them”

- Bill Tavis

Graphic By Wren Knight

just being stupid,” said Tavis.

Even for projects that focus on positivity inevitably face tagging and defacement. It depends on the location, but despite the respect for murals, incidents happen. Even when facing issues like this, RITS remains optimistic.

“That’s our real purpose, to create spaces where these artists can come and paint and show off their art in a place that is supporting them,” said Chen, “and if you’re a promising artist, we’d like to create a space for you and help give you access to different resources to better help you out there instead of tagging on someone’s wall”

Kool explained that unfortunately, paying for the cover ups is usually out of pocket, but Tavis’ opinion is that it is important to cover up defacement quickly. “It sends a message to anybody else that might be thinking about defacing it that no, this wall is not open.”

Although this negative feedback is very noticable, much of the city has an appreciation for murals and their artistry. Throughout the making of a mural, there’s lots of interaction between the artist and passerby Tavis finds it affirming, especially while suffering through Texas heat in September.

“It was real difficult, but getting that feedback from everybody in the neighborhood, and just knowing how much they appreciated it definitely helped give me motivation to just push through it,” said Tavis.

The fact that murals bring positivity to communities is undeniable.

Art has the potential to bring people together and cause genuine improvement in a region. In addition, the community can be a part of that art and leave a legacy behind with it. Murals and the messages of art bring hope to the city, and as Chen said:

“We want to see the power of giving back to our communities, the power and the value of taking care of our neighbors, our planet, and the importance of sustainable living for all of us.”

This is another mural in Austin below an overpass also on North Lamar. Even in a darker environment, murals like this bring the city to life. Photo by Wren Knight.

A mural seen by Austinites driving along North Lamar. In addition to the amazing artistry, murals can have powerful meanings behind them. Photo by Wren Knight.

Nature is often used as a reference for visual art, especially landscapes.

Some artists like to incorporate the styles of other artists they enjoy into their own work!

We surveyed people from a high school in Austin, (The majority being freshman) on which factors inspire their art! People who took the survey had the option to select more than one choice.

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include

Some provided examples include TV shows, video games, and books. Characters from media are also frequent subjects in art!

*

Number of people who selected this option!

*

Other sources of inspiration include one’s own imagination, or objects and occurrences in the surrounding environment.

artists like to focus their mainly on significant memories, friends, and other in their lives.

(18) (15) (14)

(3)

Many people take inspiration from artwork and artists who post their work on the internet, and websites such as Pinterest.

Special Thanks

We would like to take a second to thank our interviewees for giving us their time. None of the stories shared in this magazine could exist without them. They took time out of their day to respond to us and perform interviews with a bunch of high schoolers who had no prior experience making magazines. Outside of just doing interviews, many of our interviewees shared images with us for the magazine, or made themselves available if we had follow up questions or requests.

We would also like to take a second to thank you, the reader who read the magazine to the end. It means the world to us that you gave this magazine a chance, whether you took the time to read through every word on every page or you just flipped through the magazine. We hope that you found something interesting or eye-catching among the pages of our magazine.

Thanks again from the editing team,

Woman in Brown by Manierre Dawson, 1912