Category Archives: Art

Shepard Fairey Unveils 15-Story Johnny Cash Mural

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American contemporary street artist and graphic designer Shepard Fairey is best known for his viral designs featuring wrestler Andre the Giant and his “Hope” poster featuring Barack Obama.

Last Saturday Fairey unveiled a 15-story mural of Johnny Cas in downtown Sacramento, CA., just over 25 miles from where his historic Folsom Prison performance took place. Fairey stated on his Instagram account that the event was to commemorate …”the 50th anniversary of Cash’s Live at Folsom Prison album, and I hope that this art will ignite a conversation around the need for incarceration reform.”

Johnny Cash was an outspoken advocate of prison reform.

Prints are available for sale here.

If you've been following updates this week, you know that I'm in #Sacramento for @WideOpenWalls. The crew and I just completed my 15-story #JohnnyCash at #FolsomPrison mural, which is my largest in the state of #California and my most technically ambitious mural ever. The art is based on a photo by @JimMarshallPhoto which I used originally as part of my #AmericanCivics series. I’m grateful to be able to create this image on such a large scale as a tribute for the 50th anniversary of Cash’s Live at Folsom Prison album, and I hope that this art will ignite a conversation around the need for incarceration reform. According to a recent in-depth study by the Prison Policy Initiative, America has the highest incarceration rate in the world with a shocking 2.3 million people currently imprisoned. On top of that, our prisons are disproportionately filled with poor people of color, in fact, African Americans are 13% of the U.S. population, yet 40% of the prison population in this country. More African American men are under correctional control today than there were slaves in the 1850s according to a Huffington Post piece by writer and civil rights advocate Michelle Alexander. A portion of proceeds from the Johnny Cash print I made, currently available through @ToyRoomGallery, will benefit @Cut50. Thank you to @WideOpenWalls, @BrandedArts, and my crew of assistants, Dan Flores, Nic Bowers, Rob Zagula, and Luka Densmore for the 11-hour days we worked this week in the intense heat to get this mural finished! 📷 by @jonathanfurlong

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Drive By Truckers’ The Fine Print Cover

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  • Sony Music Entertainment Photo Archives, ICON Collectibles has just released some new Johnny Cash prints for the summer, ICON is offering Cash fans a 20% discount on all Johnny Cash framed and unframed fine art prints (including limited editions) when fans use promo code ICON6PAK at checkout. Offer ends July 31st. Check out the new prints now at the ICON website.
  • Wayne Hancock has  Summer tour dates posted. Hancock will be taking his Texas honky-tonk around the West Coast, back down to Texas and then back up the East Coast. Opening the show will be Joe Buck.
  • 83 year-old country-pop singer Ferlin Husky is in Tennessee hospital in critical condition with an accelerated heart rate and possible pneumonia. Husky topped the charts from the 50’s to the 70’s under various names, including Terry Preston and Simon Crum, a comic alter ego. (via the 9513.com)
  • Chet  Nashville Chet Flippo draws comparisons to the death last week of Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley and Hank Williams. Flippo posits that Williams’ death at the age of 29 in the back seat of his Cadillac on New Years Eve 1953 might have been preferable to the drawn-out publicized deterioration of Elvis and Jackson.
  • A while back I posted that New West records would be releasing The Fine Print, “a 12-track album of previously unreleased and rare songs”by the Drive By Truckers on September 1st. The album will feature  “four covers including “Rebels” by Tom Petty and “Like A Rolling Stone” by Bob Dylan which provided Shonna Tucker with her first ever lead vocal performance on a DBT recording.” Many of the original recordings are from the Dirty South era. The Look for a review of The Fine Print soon, but in the mean time check out the cover below painted by their long time cover artist Wes Freed.

Jon Langford “Song Paintings” – Yard Dog Gallery

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Showing at the Yard Dog Gallery in Marfa, TX – Jon Lanford creates art that is at once old timey and edgy. Using old country music publicity photos and sheet music as source material is builds layers of visual and musical history.

Langford describes his painting technique as s “Long process of layering, scraping, minute attention to detail. Basically, I create a very unstable surface with acrylics and pastel on top of each other and work on top of that with Sharpies, felt pens, white out, gunk, snot and whatever comes to hand.”  A native of South Wales, Langford now lives in Chicago.

In addition to his art, Jon is an internationally known musician.  He is  a founding member of legendary British rock band the Mekons, who just celebrated their 30th anniversary; he has released 3 solo albums; and he plays with Chicago band the Waco Brothers.

Yard Dog Gallery
106 East San Antonio St
Marfa, TX 79843
432-729-3303

and

Yard Dog
1510 S Congress Ave
Austin, TX 78704
512.912.1613

Tom Russell Gallery Showing At Austin’s Yard Dog Gallery

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Austin’s Yard Dog Gallery will host a showing by El Paso resident and renowned singer/songwriter and painter, Tom Russell.

The majority of the paintings in the show pay tribute to a group of jazz musicians from Juarez, Mexico.  They were premier musicians who played in the top night spots of Juarez in its heyday, even backed Frank Sinatra and Peggy Lee, but lost their lives when their bus went off a cliff in 1953.

Opening reception is Friday February 15th 6:30 – 8:30 PM
Tom will play a few songs at the opening.  Afterward, he will be playing at the Cactus Café.

Yard Dog
1510 S Congress Ave
Austin, TX 78704
512.912.1613

Hank III Does ebay

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So what would Shelton Hank Williams sell on ebay? Well the king of hellbillys/betties from time to time sells Hank III swag, memorabilia and self created artwork like the current 60’s era horned saw that he has painted in his Southern-Gothic meets Death-Metal aesthetic. The piece is whimsically entitled “R. III P.” (III for Hank III, get it?), the current bid is $275.00 (it sold for $738.99) with two more days to go. Happy bidding, Dixie-demons!

Scott H. Biram – Country Fried Poster

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Keith Neltner is a Kentucky boy known for his dark, macabre Southern-Gothic aesthetic and his work for Hank III (posters, skateboards, T-shirts, merchandise and album artwork), he has also gone on to design for other musicians such as Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers, The Kentucky Struts, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Robert Plant, and Superjoint Ritual, and the resulting poster art led him to be featured in Art of Modern Rock. Recently Keith did a brilliant illustration of that “dirty old one man band”, Scott H. Biram for a music/art/film magazine in Austin called ISSUE. Look for this as a silkscreened poster as well possibly debuting in Austin at SXSW.

Yard Dog with Bloodshot in Chicago This Week

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Austin’s Yard Dog folk art gallery and the mighty Bloodshot Records in Chicago this week for two big events. Friday through Monday they will be showing art at the very first Country Living Fair at the Chicago Botanic Gardens. On Thursday night we’re joining forces with Bloodshot Records & Jon Langford at the Hideout, one of Chicago’s finest bars, for a night of art & loud music.

The Country Living Fair
October 6-9, 2006
Chicago Botanic Garden
1000 Lake Cook Road, Glencoe, IL

Artwork being offered by Jennifer Harrison, Eric Bellis, Brad & Sundie Ruppert, Bill Miller, Mose Tolliver, Scott Griffin, Mike Miller, Mary Klein, some great anonymous work and more. The show itself features folk art, outsider art, antique & americana dealers from around the country; artisans, design & educational seminars, food tastings & even a pie tasting contest.

Yard Dog/Bloodshot Party
The Hideout
1354 W. Wabansia, Chicago IL
773.227.4433

Music by
The Waco Brothers, Puerto Muerto, Outlaw Family Band, The Hiders (x-Ass Ponys), Jon Langford & Special guests!
Art by Jon Langford, Tom Russell, Lamar Sorrento, Kevin Coyne & Tim Kerr.
8 pm, $8 cover