Tag: southtown

Interpreting Texas via “my square mile”

postcardsfromsanantonio1 Comment

One Square Mile: Texas (OSMTX) is a documentary television series that portrays Texas culture from the perspective of distinct square miles across the Lone Star state.  As a whole, the series is a microcosm of Texas life and a collective portrait of the state.

The series represents the many faces and facets of Texas from the perspective of the individual while spanning the emotional, demographic and physical landscapes. This is a series about shared challenges and aspirations.  The square miles include urban, suburban and rural communities and neighborhoods from every corner of the state.

Each episode has a theme by which the series examines the square miles and provides a cohesive thread that allows us to explore, compare and shed light on universal issues. Looking beyond the preconceived notions or stereotypes that typically define the state, OSMTX’s objective viewpoint provides a platform and outlet for discussion of the collective and varied identity of the state and the regions and towns that comprise it….

Our culture must be documented as it is happening, lest it be lost or re-interpreted. This series provides a tangible link between where we have been and where we are going.  A template and online platform for the cross-pollination of ideas will bring students and individuals together from the diverse regions across Texas. Students are encouraged to document their own square miles with video, photography, art and written word that is to be shared with the OSMTX community.

One Square Mile – Texas

A series focusing on selected square miles of Texas as microcosms capturing the character of the state as a whole will air this fall on PBS stations. One of the square miles is “mine,” which engages my interest in the progress of this project because I am so smitten by the ‘hood in which I live. If I were visiting San Antonio on vacation, this is precisely where I would want to stay.

A major bonus is that only today my daughter and son-in-law moved into the downtown square mile of Austin included in the series. The Austin teaser is not up on the website yet, but stay tuned.

And, while posting video about the neighborhood, Erik Bosse‘s short showcasing portions of the parade during the King William Fair makes it appear more polished than in real life:

Update on May 24, 2013: The teaser for the Austin Square Mile in which my daughter and son-in-law live has just been added to the website…

One Square Mile: Texas – Austin Teaser from Brazos Film & Video on Vimeo.

Processing Art through Public Filters, Part Two

postcardsfromsanantonio6 Comments

whitewashedOn the left side of the photo on the right is a wall.

The wall, prepped for painting, is not architecturally stunning.

In fact, one could say it is architecturally challenged.

Perhaps that is why the artist wanted to make a monkey out of it.

monkeyBut this building is located in the King William Historic District, and, according to the San Antonio Express-News, some of its residents evidently felt Robert Tatum’s Chi Chi Monkey made a mockery of the neighborhood.

tame-birdSo the artist came up with a rendering for a tame bird sporting a Tyrolean hat perched outside a gingerbready bird house, all nods to the characteristics of the neighborhood.

Some of the residents were happy.

But, upon further reflection, the artist was not.

He must have felt as though he had his wings clipped.

This tame bird is not representative of his art, and this bird house is on the outside wall of his office.

cuckoo-birdSo he transformed the bird into something more reflective of his style, more of a wild-eyed cuckoo bird too big-headed to fit into his house.

This bird looks much more like Tatum’s style, but some of the neighbors balked at the new one.

The frustrated artist told reporter Scott Huddleston it will be his prized bird or no bird at all.

The poor members of the Historic Design and Review Commission are left in the middle, stuck walking the tightrope between artistic integrity and the strict enforcement of guidelines of the historic district.

I’m rooting for the cuckoo.

Sometimes we take ourselves so seriously, we kill the spirit of things. “We” includes me. Sometimes.

I draw a rigid line in the sand when it comes to protecting sensitive areas, such as the Alamo Plaza Historic District. I’ve even gone so far as to label myself Alamobsessive about it.

But South Alamo in Southtown is not across from the Alamo. And this building is not nestled among stately residences.

It’s in more of the entertainment part of the neighborhood. People walking by the back side of this building are most likely on their way to art galleries or restaurants.

And this wall is not exactly in pedestrians’ faces. It is set way back from the sidewalk and street.

But what about its across-the-street neighbor? Well, that’s got to be about the most laid-back, relaxed place around – The Friendly Spot. The cartoonish cuckoo bird will fit right in and should delight the kids scampering over the Spot’s playscape while their parents gather with friends.

The photo below shows the current wall when viewed from the entrance of The Friendly Spot.

friendly-spot

You probably are thinking I posted the wrong photo. But no. That’s the proposed canvas, way back behind the red SUV, tucked unobtrusively between two buildings. If the bird’s features are not exaggerated, they won’t show up at all.

The tame version of the mural is like the Mission Drive-In, where the spirit of the original art was put in a straitjacket.

Art should reflect its creator. In this location, there seems no need to over-process it in the name of King William’s integrity.

Let that cuckoo bird fly free.

Update on March 7, 2013: Alas, Mr. Tatum, if you had only showed up at the HDRC meeting to plead your case and get a fair hearing, the cuckoo might be perched on your wall instead of caged in my blog.

Stepping out our door smack into First Friday

postcardsfromsanantonio1 Comment

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

When we first bought our loft in King William, we walked over to the patio at Azuca for lunch. It immediately hit us that we were going to live in the exact spot we would want to stay if we were on vacation in San Antonio – a block off the river, a quick walk into downtown, in the midst of an emerging restaurant scene.

Last night, we strolled through Southtown’s First Friday for about 20 minutes before sitting down with banh mi sandwiches from the Duk Truck at Alamo Street Eat to listen to a set by Mitch Webb and the Swindles. I snapped a few – well, a lot of – photos on the way, all taken within about a three-block radius of our house.

I would recommend any of the food stops in the photos, and I cheated by throwing in our favorite weekend lunch spot – Tre Trattoria Downtown.