Various artists
Buzz Design
ongoing display
Buzzzzzz. That’s what you hear when you walk in. Buzzzzzz. Whether or not Buzz
Design gets its name from the perpetual buzzing of woodworking, welding, and
sundry other tools bouncing off the walls of its cavernous workshop, I don’t
know. But it seems fitting.
Buzz Design is a revolutionary idea, not only for Austin, but for designers in
general. Basically, if you want something made — a couch, a house, a
sculpture, a metal bison, whatever — walk that idea into Buzz, and the
resident team of artisans will work to make it a reality. The “full service
design center” is like a one-stop shop for interior, furniture,
whatever-you-can-dream-up design. Owners Robert Leeper and Joel Mozersky have
made a name for themselves with their custom floor finishes, using vibrant
colors and often harlequin-esque patterns to replace crummy ol’ concrete.
Within Buzz’s workshop is a small gallery, exhibiting works by Buzz and
non-Buzz artists. It’s an unusual collection of pieces, not exactly traditional
fine art. Instead, you’ll find things like a skeletal cat marionette by
resident sculptor Chris Moray; and Chris Levack’s huge metal bison — with
bolts splattered all over its metal body, it looks a bit like Frankenbeast. The
wall covered with Johnny Walker’s beautiful framed dried leaves is a big
Rorschach test. What do you see when you look into a blanket of dried oak tree
leaves? Ask someone in the studio to turn on the lights behind the leaves and
they become even more interesting, like dragon scales or a veiny specimen under
a microscope. Original, unusual, and clever seem the most fitting adjectives
for this melange of works.
If you want to check out more cool stuff, just walk back to the work area and
someone will be happy to show you around. (Just to see the boat/buffet table is
worth a trip to the back.) About 15 artists have studio and work space in the
Buzz warehouse, and — here’s another revolutionary idea — they can actually
make a living doing their art collaboratively with the others. Buzz must be
doing something right.
New Works
Various Artists
on line @ Viewtopia Online Art Gallery
http://www.viewtopia.com
Are computers and fine art actually becoming friendly? Unheard of in the past!
Until recently, many artists eschewed the sterile land of gigabyte talk and
megahertz awareness, and computer wizards weren’t exactly up-to-date on the
latest art movement.
But now we have the World Wide Web acting as a friendly liaison. Part computer
genius, part creative visual stimulation, the Web is making bedfellows out of
formerly apathetic acquaintances.
A prime example is the Viewtopia Online Art Gallery, a wonderful, convenient
(i.e., lazy) way to check out works by dozens of artists, most of whom are
Austin-based, including Melissa Miller, Marc Silva, Stan Irvin, and Arleen
Polite (whose “Dream of Swimming Flight” is a pleasure to see in and out of
cyberspace).
Not only can you view the works, you can use Viewtopia’s search engine to
customize your visit. You can tour the cyber-gallery by a list of artists or
galleries, and by categories or titles of works. Or you can get more specific,
searching for hanging or free-standing pieces, a select artist or gallery,
dimensions or price range of works, or keywords. You gotta love it.
Granted, a nice, big color monitor and a speedy modem are a big help in this
memory-eating gallery tour, and you don’t get to go to a schmoozy art opening
with oodles of free wine, but then maybe that’s the wave of the future. — Cari Marshall
This article appears in August 2 • 1996 and August 2 • 1996 (Cover).