Art Dirt: The Mural Boom in Texas

by Glasstire March 27, 2021

Houston, 2021. Photo: Christopher Blay

Christopher Blay and Christina Rees discuss the recent explosion of murals across the state.

“I wonder if artists are being commissioned to beautify cities in a way that ignores the time that we live in.”

To play the podcast, click on the orange play button below. You can also listen to it here. You can also find Glasstire on Apple Podcasts.

 

This week’s podcast is sponsored in part by Texas Talks Art, a weekly series of virtual, lunchtime conversations with curators from Texas’ leading cultural institutions and artists from across the state. Tune in every Tuesday at noon CST for these virtual talks, which are happening throughout 2021. All talks are free and open to the public. See the full schedule and register for upcoming talks at Texas Talks Art’s website.

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Reading list:

Resistance In Place: Christopher Montoya’s Mural of Cesar Chavez, San Antonio

Art And The Public Sphere: An Interview With lauren woods

Democratic Distribution: A Chat With Josef Kristofoletti 

A Visit to Three New Murals in Fort Worth

The Muralization of Houston

Please Stop Painting The Electrical Boxes (A Public Art Proposal) 

Houston, We Have a Problem: Clingy Murals

Artist Emily Ding Selected for Artspace111’s $8,000 Mural

A Graffiti Review by an Interested Houston Sixth Grader

There’s a Graffiti Art Supply Store in Houston: Q&A with Adrian Morales of The Fat Cap 

Lubbock’s Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts Announces Mural Open Call 

Call it Street Art, Call it Fine Art, Call it What You Know

Fresh Arts and Arts District Houston Announce $10,000 Mural Open Call

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scott chase March 30, 2021 - 11:09

I enjoyed the podcast about the proliferation of murals in Texas nowadays. As a student of Early Texas Art, I am very familiar with the New Deal murals that were painted in the 1930s in US federal buildings, including many post offices in Texas. (https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/post-office-murals). Those murals were not outside, unlike the current mural activity, and were often affected by local 1930s-era political pressures. The current activity is meant to be viewed by everyone (unavoidable, as you pointed out) and there are some very politically-motivated, and to some, objectionable, murals. You also mention some old murals being painted over and Dallas certainly has had that happen (https://www.hamonlibraryblog.org/2015/07/06/lost-bywaters-and-hogue-murals-uncovered-at-dallas-old-municipal-building/). Nice to know that muralism is still alive and well in Texas.

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