Austin Artists Use their Creations During Times of Unrest and Unpredictability
Nov. 12, 2020
Brooke Barrett, Ellie Rudy, Jessie Curneal, Margaret Wirick, Shaina Jaramillo
Austin, TX – History describes a surge of social unrest during epidemics, even though the protest may not necessarily connect to the disease. The Covid-19 pandemic is no exception. Since citywide shelter-in-place mandates began in March, protests regarding police brutality and Black Lives Matter have skyrocketed while businesses have shut down due to the pandemic.
As people around the world turn to art to express their views regarding civic tension and the pandemic, artists in Austin have taken to the streets to show their support. The colorful and large works of art with brick or cement walls as their canvas aren’t just for decoration, but a way for artists to engage the community through the medium they know best.
Xavier Schipani, 36, artist and trans activist, (@xavierschipani)
Xavier Schipani works and lives in Austin as a “transman/artist,” creating art focused on gender expression and social justice. Although he has continued producing work during this time, he has experienced his fair share of artist block.
“I think that like anything else during these times there (has) been a lot of ups and downs. Stretches of time where I feel uninspired or trapped at home,” Schipani said.
However, in light of the Black Lives Matter protests that began in the spring and Pride Month in June, Schipani again felt motivated to break out the art supplies. In July, he painted a mural on Rainey Street near Davis Street, titled, “LIBERATION THROUGH REPRESENTATION.” The piece is his “love letter to protest,” and he hopes it spreads awareness on issues that he believes the media fail to adequately address.
“Often there is a lack of representation in media and what is covered… I consider protesting and marching to be an art practice, a performance, from the chanting, to the organizing and the sign making. I think it is a beautiful, wild gesture that is powerful in so many ways,” Schipani said.
Although Schipani does not have a specific message he wants viewers to take away from his art, he does hope that his work has a lasting impression on people.
“I think it is important to see examples of work and expression that exist outside of the mainstream, not only for the viewer but for me, to be seen and to exist in spaces I wouldn’t necessarily, using my art as a tool of invasion.” Schipani said.
-Ellie Rudy
Filiberto Mendieta, 36, mechanical engineer and part-time street artist, (@chrome_throwies)
Filiberto Mendieta has been creating street art since he was a teenager, but he said one mural held more personal meaning for him than others he painted.
That mural, which went up in July on East Seventh Street, depicts U.S. Army soldier Vanessa Guillen, who was murdered by a fellow soldier in April. Mendieta said he saw a lot of himself in her because, like Guillen, he is the child of immigrant parents.
“It’s a story that touches home for a lot of us,” Mendieta said. “I’m not usually one to be super involved in speaking out, but if I can make my point through art I will.”
Guillen’s story first went viral following her disappearance from Fort Hood, an army base 68 miles north of Austin. Following an outpouring of protests due to the Army’s lack of transparency about the case, Guillen’s remains were found June 30 and Ryan D. McCarthy, the Secretary of the Army, ordered a “full independent review.”
Mendieta said he was already considering painting Guillen’s portrait when he was approached by a friend looking for Latino artists interested in creating something similar. Along with street artist Arturo Silva, he began the piece July 4 outside Joe’s Bakery at 2305 E Seventh Street and finished it around midnight that evening. Mendieta said the outpouring of support from the community was immediate, with people showing up to thank him and Silva the same night they finished the mural.
“It touched the Mexican and Hispanic community a lot differently,” Mendieta said. “Our parents come here to seek a better life for us and we try to do right by them in return. We’re all doing the same thing – just trying to make our parents proud.”
– Brooke Barrett
Soledad Fernandez-Whitechurch, 37, mural artist and painter, (@solepaints)
On a side wall of the Agave Print shop along E. Cesar Chavez St. in East Austin, passersby can see a colorful tribute to the late Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The mural’s artist, Soledad Fernandez-Whitechurch, said Ginsburg’s death prompted the need to paint the justice in honor of her memory.
“It [the mural] was really a grieving process for me when she passed. And I didn’t even think of painting a mural of her until that happened and I think it was a way for me to come to terms with what happened after her passing and what was likely to happen,” she said. “It was sort of like I really want to do a mural. I just need to do this.”
The former justice is depicted in her black robe against a bright yellow background, with a light blue halo. To the left, red lettering reads “Time is on the side of change.”
To Fernandez-Whitechurch, the piece was personal and intimate. She said an artist’s work is extremely meaningful and how it can only be expressed with the outlet they know best.
“I secured a wall and it was just me in this really private moment,” she said. “It wasn’t until the week of, that I decided to open it up to other people.”
Fernandez-Whitechurch’s decision was due to how the initial intention of an artist’s work can be interpreted in any way to the observer.
“The moment you are done with your mural you lose control of it,” she said, “So, it’s not my story, it’s for people to make their own stories with.”
Fernandez-Whitechurch was shocked by how many people came to participate. The community lending a hand was “a really beautiful moment” to her and recalled how there are seldom moments in life with a “sense of togetherness” and camaraderie.
Fernandez-Whitechurch ultimately sees murals as a way to start conversations and spread awareness.
“It’s art that is big and you can’t ignore it, but it’s also done in a way that the general public knows what it means versus something that is really obscure and abstract,” she said. “It’s a way to facilitate conversations among the people that are interested and maybe among the people that are not.”
– Shaina Jaramillo
David Russell, 33, Polis Creative founder and supervisor for Extend -A-Care for Kids, (@Daaru_art)
David Russell rekindled his childhood love for art at 29 and used his creativity as social commentary on the COVID-19 pandemic. Russell is known for his popular character, Hamish the Handmade Hero, who is a hand-stitched, cape-wearing rag doll.
His most recent mural of Hamish can be found at the Northside Domain in north Austin. The words, “watch out for each other,” are framed around the figure in a time where artists are attempting to uplift the community.
Previously, Russell was the supervisor for Extend-A-Care for Kids and also founded Polis Creative, an art non-profit organization.
Russell said that at first glance his murals are for the public to consume, but in reality, it’s a reminder for himself.
“A lot of it comes from a place of something that I personally need to hear or that is on my mind,” Russell said. “Because it’s something that I’m struggling with.”
Russell said he uses art as a tool to help his mental state, and to make him feel less isolated during the pandemic. The artist said he has received only positive feedback from his murals.
“People have told me that they enjoyed seeing it, and that it helped them put a smile on their face,” Russell said.
When Austin was put on a shelter-in-place lockdown in March, the bars on 6th Street were forced to close. During this period, Russell was commissioned to collaborate with other street artists to create a message that would encourage people to stay home.
“I think there was a lot of desire to get out in front of it and help people not feel like it turned into too much of a ghost town,” Russell said.
This opportunity was the artist’s catalyst for creating encouraging art related to COVID-19. In addition to murals, Russell does small commission art pieces of Hamish painting a brick wall with messages such as, “brighter days to come,” and “it will pass.”
“I want to always have encouraging messages of people doing what’s right,” Russell said. “Not necessarily what’s best for them, (but what’s best for) others.”
-Jessie Curneal
Efren Rebugio, 38, Muralist and Artist, ER, (@erthink)
In the heat of the Black Lives Matter protests, artists from around Austin gathered on Congress Avenue to paint a mural in support of the movement. The bold, yellow letters backdropped with stark, black paint that sprawled across the street spelling, “Black Austin Matters,” shut down parts of the avenue while the artists worked on their creation. The summer heat did not stop them from expressing their support to the rest of the city.
Muralist Efren Rebugio, who uses the tag “ER” which stands for “Everyday Research” on his work, was invited to paint part of the mural back in June. He recalls being confronted by people who opposed the movement but still persisted as he believed it was important work.
“It was a special thing to be a part of,” Rebugio said. “To see all these different people from all these different backgrounds get together to say this one thing. That was really cool.”
Rebugio recalled other times in which he used his art for activism. His piece, “America the Bulletfull,” was originally created after the Sandy Hook school shooting but was later reworked into different versions after other shootings occurred. Four versions were displayed at the Hope Outdoor Gallery, which is now closed and being moved near the Austin airport, but the pieces didn’t last long as they were likely painted over. He said he’s been compelled to use the graffiti park as his “soap box” after serious incidents take place, such as the killing of Trayvon Martin. During times of social unrest, Rebugio described the role of the artist as the “filtered voice of it all.”
“I think a lot of us kind of use our voice, our talent, our gift, our skill in that way to just speak up,” Rebugio said.
With the pandemic evoking a widespread quarantine in early 2020, 15.1 million people nationally reported they are “unable to work because their employer closed or lost business due to the pandemic.” The Texas unemployment rate sits at the 39th spot nationally at 8.3 percent. Despite this, artists claim demand for their work has increased and they have more time to create. Although the festivals at which Rebugio creates live art were canceled, he made do with collaborative live stream sessions in which he would paint murals while a DJ would stream their music. Rebugio said he’s experimenting with different mediums such as video, music and writing while also working on improving the technical elements of his art.
“I’ve been kind of trying to look on the brighter side of things during all this,” he said. “But I’ve felt my focus and creativity being refined and heightened during this time so in that sense it’s been really good.”
Most of Rebugio’s work takes the form of animals or elements of nature. He said nature holds lessons that people can apply to their lives and so he tries to put those elements into his art. Tying in pinks and turquoise, the color of sunsets, as a connection to the Florida and Hawaii childhood scenes he experienced growing up. Rebugio says he creates his art for himself, but also to convey messages to those who are willing to listen.
“My intentions are to have a message in there somewhere,” he said. “Whether it’s straight forward or something that is suggested. And sometimes the viewer will pull something else out of the piece that resonates with them that I never intended; that I never saw until they shared it with me.”
-Margaret Wirick