Art for Profit Gallery

This is a mural on the side of the “Thai, how are you?” restaurant, which was branded entirely off the Jeremiah the Innocent graffiti itself. This frog is a particular commissioned work that has become iconic part of the Keep Austin Weird culture, and goes to show just how thin the line has become between street art and industry.

This is a wheatpaste tag advertising a clothing and lifestyle brand called “Live a Great Story.” It is plastered on a pillar over the lake, where other tags and wheatpastes are. This is a integration of graffiti/guerrila advertising for profit that is placed amongst other illicit graffiti pieces.

This commissioned mural of Bernie Sanders on the side of Mustang Paint and Body Shop. It is unclear as to who specifically commissioned this piece, though the Instagram handles of the artists are in the bottom right corner. This mural not only draws attention to the business but also promotes Sanders’ campaign.  

This is a stencil found in west campus on the sidewalk in front of a frat house. The placement for this is important because goPuff is an application designed to target a younger stoner audience by offering “a sleek and effortless convenience store, smoke shop, and mini-mart right in your pocket.”The name of the app itself gives hints into the target audience as well. So with the stencil goPuff has taken some attributes from graffiti, a once grey area, to promote their smokeshop/delivery service, which is currently also a grey area under the law.

This is a mural that is commissioned by a government entity called “FRESH EMPIRE” on the side of the Go Go Gourmet Kitchen. It has an anti-smoking message, targeted towards youths associated with rap and hip-hop dance lifestyles. The social media handles are attached to the graffiti-styled mural to invite people to explore the message on their own.

Small phrase written along with many other designs on Apparition’s storefront. This is an example of graffiti being used to promote a business's agenda. The phrase “BUY AMERICAN” shows that this business values the origin of its merchandise, and does so in a way that promotes the “weird” ways of Austin too.

This mural is placed on the side of an apartment campus in north campus to differentiate it from the numerous other complexes in the area that all more or less look the same. The company that rents out the apartments is clearly using graffiti to make their living complex seem more hip to potential residents.

Tag is missing from the picture that was uploaded, but there is the name “mez data” on the bottom right. Some researching into this name revealed that this artist is well known within the graffiti community, with tons of other examples of high production pieces being posted on his instagram. He also has a website linked to where you can contact him, presumably meaning that he is offering his art in a for-profit fashion. This is a great example of an artist publicly advertising himself in a way that he can capitalize on his talents, and it also shows that there is a market for it in Austin because his Instagram contains countless other murals he has done.

This artwork advertises this quirky shop full of 50s-70s decor. The piece is a commissioned work that displays the creator’s name and personal website. The unique design and style shows high production quality and is easily noticeable as an advertising piece. The work stands out among the setting where it is found.

This Spratx tag on the side of Blackbird fitness and nutrition shows amazing quality and work. This piece was commissioned by Blackbird and clearly works to add an appealing aspect to the building of the gym. The work stands out on the dark wall of the building and shows drastic contrasts in colors and shapes.

This piece is a recommissioned piece located at Hops and Grain brewery. The work adds to the “weird” theme of Austin and the community and is one of many works that have been commissioned onto the wall. The art piece shows a pink bear drinking some beer and makes the setting more interesting and unique.

This mural was commissioned by the Austin Tattoo co. It features their wordmark as well as some abstract graffiti. This piece of street art is respected by graffiti taggers and protected by the business in the event that it does get covered by someone else.

This mural was commissioned and maintained by the Austin Metal & Iron company. This piece of street art is respected by graffiti taggers and protected by the business it is attached to.

This mural was done by street artist Mike Johnston (truth) and clearly conveys a high production work in the parking lot of Brick Oven Pizza on Red River. The art is a commissioned piece and works as a unique advertisement that attracts Austinites through the psychedelic quality of the mural. This psychedelic quality argues for the iconic Austin saying, “Keep Austin Weird” and has become a way for Brick Oven Pizza to blend into the community effectively.

This work is a commissioned piece and serves as a decoration that adds to the aesthetic of the Whisler’s setting. Whisler’s is a very rugged and old-looking cocktail bar that is located in East Austin and this piece adds to the atmosphere of the place. This piece also appeals to the community by displaying Mexican and Hispanic themes throughout. The strange drawings and art found on the wall makes Whisler’s an “Austin place” and fits in well with the community.

This drawing is found on The Lucky Robot Japanese Kitchen’s ATM right outside the restaurant. This is a low-quality production drawing that seems to have been done quickly and strategically next to the Restaurant. People who go to the ATM are immediately exposed to this drawing and thus works as a form of advertising for the restaurant.

This mural is a commissioned piece on the side of the Mexic-Arte Museum. The artist provides his name on the art as “Federico.” It serves as a decoration on the actual museum building and attracts the eyes of people passing by. Therefore, it also works as an advertisement for the museum as it intrigues people to see what the mural is about.

The DIRTNAIL tagging shows high-production quality on the side of the shared warehouse space where Dirtnail Pedicab locates itself. The work is found on the end of a long wall full of other taggings, however, this tagging seems to be the most professionally done. The work serves as a form of advertisement for this pedicab company and blends in perfectly well in the community where it finds itself in.

This Bob Dylan piece is found on the side of Hole in the Wall bar. It is most likely intended to make the bar more welcoming and authentic. The work is signed off by an artist named "Federico" who is also responsible for the Mexic Arte Museum's "Til' death do us part" mural.

Here a graffiti artist includes his online name, @dearninja, which links to his personal facebook account. This shows once again, that the newer breed of graffiti artists has embraced the fact that businesses want to commision art to attract more attention to themselves.