WITH GONZO247
By Lance Scott Walker | Photography by Max Burkhalter
The urban legend is that she was carrying a shotgun , but GONZO247 will neither confirm nor deny that . I was there and I don ’ t even know . It was 1994 and I was working in an old schoolhouse in Third Ward , making screens for Calico Print Company , when I looked out of the window and saw two guys in baggy pants and backwards hats , covered in spray paint , staring up at the big smooth concrete wall that bordered the property . I thought my boss is going to eat those guys alive , and went back to work . She was out there talking to them when I looked again , and it didn ’ t look good ! When I passed by the window a third time , GONZO247 and MERGE360 were out there spray painting on the wall , and I thought , “ These guys are freaking politicians .”
What became known as the “ Wall of Fame ” was the start of graffiti art coming out of the shadows in Houston . GONZO grew up in the East End and had come up bombing trains and tagging his name all around the city , but he was thinking bigger .
“ Graffiti kinda needed a face in Houston ,” he said . “ There needed to be a hand to shake , something to connect to this art form that was being put up in the middle of the night . People fear the unknown , so if I can put a face on it , then – and not that I ever really claimed to represent the entire community , I ’ m just saying , ‘ Hey , you can look at me . I can talk to you about this .’ My goal was that if they no longer fear it because there ’ s a hand to shake or a face to see , then maybe that would open up opportunities and that way every step I took forward I could bring other people another step closer .” partnerships and collaborations with businesses , arts organizations and nonprofits continues to take him into uncharted territory .
In September , GONZO247 was honored by the City of Houston for his work , and this month his full attention is directed toward the HUE Mural Festival Inspired by Houston First ; the second annual event showcases local and international artists creating murals in alliance with property owners around the city .
“ Last year we had over 75 artists featured throughout the city ,” he said , “ producing over 50 individual murals through the festival , and we had 12 international street artists . This gave me a great opportunity to bring the world to Houston , and the locals can gauge where they ’ re at with their art seeing these international artists coming in , and what they leave behind is inspiring .”
This year , 100 creatives will be involved ; artists from France , Iran and Puerto Rico will come to soak up the Houston hospitality and leave their own impression .
“ Pretty much all the walls from last year are going to run and then we ’ re going to add to the visual landscape of the city . If you ’ re driving from one mural site to the next , visually there ’ s not much going on as far as art , so we ’ re trying to fill in all those gaps .”
Crossing paths with my old boss MICKEY PHOENIX was early in a journey that Gonzo has networked through the underground , opening a storefront for his arts collective Aerosol Warfare , selling vinyl toys , books , clothing apparel , spray paint and prints and then finally coming to a point where his own art ( the latest of which includes aerosol paint in layered Plexiglas ) is his primary focus . His wife manages his career now , and a series of
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HUE Mural Festival Inspired by Houston First October 15 – 22 at The Graffiti and Street Art Museum of Texas
www . aerosolwarfare . com www . thegasamtexas . org
36 L O C A L | october 16