Best Neighborhood Guardian
The Skagen-Brakhage Genie
Every Austin neighborhood enjoys the protection of the city's men who wear blue, but only one is under the watchful eye of a man who is blue. This year, the Bouldin Creek neighborhood got its own super-size supernatural security guard, an azure-skinned genie - Shazzan, if we remember our Sixties Saturday morning cartoons right - perched atop the studio of "them crafty hobos" Rory Skagen and Billy Brakhage. The Skagen Brakhage team has gifted our town with lots of witty, whimsical art - the "Blue Ribbon" mural at W. Fifth & Colorado, the cowpoke and flying steer at GSD&M's Idea City, the Austin postcard mural opposite their studio at South First &Annie - but Shazzan is special, a benevolent sentinel whose broad smile and strong oustretched arms promise safety and reassurance.
