January 16 - February 27, 2010
Opening Celebration Saturday, January 16, at 7:09 P.M.
Bill Narum co-founded and served as president of the South Austin Museum of Popular Culture until his sudden death on November 18, 2009, in the new studio he was building in Milam County. The Museum held a memorial exhibit of his work from January 16 through February 27, 2010. An opening reception and celebration of his life on the 16th featured music by his longtime friend Van Wilks and The Texcentrics, for whom he had recently completed the cover of their new CD.
As Margaret Moser wrote on November 20 in the Austin Chronicle,"For those who knew Bill, who signed his work as "narum," the exhibit is a way to soothe our souls as we mourn the staggering loss of our friend and colleague. He’d been at the forefront of creative and counterculture activity since the 1960s in Houston, where his many endeavors included co-founding rock music radio station KLOL and creating music posters for local venues. He was also part of the Armadillo Art Squad and did posters for Austin's legendary Armadillo World Headquarters, where he spent hundreds of hours videotaping early shows." —Leea Mechling
"No one journeyed through Texas music without seeing Bill Narum. His splashy, bold art decorated every ZZ Top album from the vinyl and 8-track days until CDs rendered LP art a mere detail. His sweeping style defined the rattlesnake bite of their music, providing the visual image of that Little Ol’ Band from Texas as sure as Billy Gibbons’ guitar crunch. It was a style he applied to musicians from Van Wilks to Stevie Ray Vaughan, from Armadillo and other local club posters to video and computer games, an approach neatly illustrated in his 2005 art show at the South Austin Museum of Popular Culture, titled “You Call That ART?” If it involved art, Narum dabbled in it."
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| City of Austin Distinguished Service Award in Memoriam |
