Image via Complex Original
Some of the most beloved public art in Austin, Texas, just showed up one day, surprising and delighting residents who happened across it. Some of it isn't even instantly recognizable as art, and many take it for a mysterious landscape feature or a utility, seamlessly integrating with its surroundings. But once locals have become attached to a piece of art, they'll passionately defend it against encroaching development. Here are 10 pieces, from the officially sanctioned to the spontaneously spray-painted, that live in plain sight in Austin; some are unmissable and some you might not have even known were intentional.
The El Paso Street Bridge
Artist Stefanie Distefano created a gleaming mirror and ceramic mosaic on this small bridge in South Austin as a memorial to a loved one. Two intertwining koi fish swim over the bridge's sidewalk span as if swimming below. A grouchy neighbor called the city to complain about the bridge, but when the worker who was sent to clean up arrived, he refused to destroy it and the city left it alone. Underneath, Distefano put a mosaic of dancing skeletons over the retaining wall, and the resulting, completed work is called As Above So Below.
The Interstate 35 Underpass Lights
During the day, the parking lots under Interstate 35 in downtown Austin are nothing special, although drivers might notice the metal poles that arc up from the highway. At night, however, they come alive with color-changing-programmed LED lights that illuminate and decorate the blocks between Fifth and Eighth streets. The light show was commissioned by the city's Art in Public Places program as part of a scheme to both beautify the lots and to make them safer for night-time parking. Locals nicknamed them "Brontosaurus Ribs" at first, but they add whimsy and color to the most unwhimsical of things, a parking lot.
Jeremiah The Innocent
In 1993, Sound Exchange manager Craig Koon asked local iconoclast Daniel Johnston to paint a mural on the side of the Drag's preeminent record store. Paid in candy and a little cash, Johnston painted his signature Hi, How Are You? frog across an entire wall; it's now also known as Jeremiah The Innocent. Sound Exchange eventually closed and when a new business moved in and planned to paint over the mural, locals rallied to save it. So far, the mural has outlasted several businesses and building renovations, and is one of the last vestiges of the old Drag.
Greetings From Austin
For a time, works by the team of Bill Brakhage and Rory Skagen decorated exterior walls all around Austin. The pair created memorable commercial signage and murals—making art out of advertisements in the form of iconic-roadside art for businesses, from Fran's Hamburgers to Martinez Brothers Taxidermy, many of which are lost to time. This classic Americana postcard-style painting on the side of Roadhouse Relics on South First Street is one of the last remaining signs the partnership produced, standing since 1997. It pays homage to the Capitol, the UT Tower, and Barton Springs, elements of the city's landscape that would be as identifiable in 1955 as it is in 2015.
Moments
Drivers under the North Lamar railroad-bridge underpass wonder at the rectangular-blue panels that stick out of the retaining walls. Are they flooding indicators? Caution signs? No, they're the last remaining pieces of an installation called “Moments,” which originally included painted squares and solar-powered lights on the walls. The other elements fell victim to vandalism and construction, so now just the panels remain. They've been one of the most visible targets for yarn-bombing in Austin, and reflect a blue glow from motorists' headlights at night—but most residents take them for unusual signage.
I Love You So Much
If Daniel Johnston's frog is a reminder of old Austin, the phrase painted on the side of Jo's Coffee on South Congress Avenue is the image of Austin as it is today. Jo's and its neighbor, the Hotel San Jose, helped transform South Congress into the crowded commercial district it is now. The declaration was spray-painted by musician Amy Cook for Jo's and San Jose founder Liz Lambert, her then-girlfriend. It has been vandalized multiple times, parodied, and yet likely the city's most popular photo spots; many an engagement picture has been taken with it as the backdrop.
Ivan Garth Johnson Memorial Mural
One mural has been on the bridge supports under the Lamar railroad bridge for decades, the one that reads "Fair Sailing Tall Boy." It's a memorial to Ivan Garth Johnson, who was killed by a drunk driver in 1989. His mother, Mary Boyd, painted the mural that year. She had spoken to Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, who encouraged the placement of roadside crosses, but decided to create her own memorial of a heart and ivy, which echoed the nickname she used for her son. Austin residents, touched by its message and endurance, have defended and restored the mural from being painted over, vandalized, and faded.
The Deep Eddy Pool Mosaic
Deep Eddy Pool is fed by the Edwards Aquifer, and is the oldest swimming pool in Texas. In 2006, Wanda Montemayor began an ambitious mural in the form of a tile and mirror mosaic to tell the story of the pool's history as part of her art-therapy thesis project. Fellow artist Lisa Orr and local high school and middle school students assisted in the mural's construction, and now it's a colorful wall that complements the shaded-swimming spot in central Austin. Students wrote their own hopes and dreams on the tiles they contributed, rewarding a close inspection of the work.
Union Pacific Train Bridge Graffiti
Artists climb out onto the side of this bridge over the Colorado River to paint changing tags, declarations, and images on its side, and occasionally Union Pacific paints over it. The bridge art is visible facing east along Cesar Chavez Street, to drivers coming across the Lamar Bridge, and from foot when crossing the Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge. The graffiti has ranged from statements of support for Ron Paul's presidential campaign, to Pac-Man homages and marriage proposals, with some the result of collaborations between local street artists and taggers. The city's official line is that the bridge is the private property of Union Pacific and any graffiti removal is done by the railroad.
The Hike and Bike Trail Decor
Guerilla art frequently pops up on the bridge underpasses and trees along the trail around Lady Bird Lake in downtown Austin, a popular hike and bike route through the city. It is, of course, always changing, since it's painted over by the city, but there are always new works replacing those that are painted over. Some striking images startle and entertain Austinites along the trail: wheat-pasted art, spray-painted tags, and a large bronze statue of Stevie Ray Vaughan that's remained in place since 1994.