San Antonio is filled with art and artists that represent the city’s rich history. From music to musicals, sculptures to murals, plays to comedy shows, San Antonio’s culture is always on display across the city. On the City’s vibrant Southside, art fills the halls and courtyards of the Texas A&M University – San Antonio campus, as a mission to introduce students to the wealth of artistic inspiration seen across the City. The new VIDA community adjacent to campus will expand on this vision.
A signature of the VIDA community will be its incorporation of local artists and creators as inspiration. To start, the streets of VIDA will be named after several well-known San Antonio artists.
Lanfear Way
Marilyn Lanfear Exhibit at the SA Museum of Art, courtesy of SA Express News.
‘Uncle Clarence’s Three Wives’ – Mother-of-pearl and plastic buttons on linen by Marilyn Lanfear, gift of Marilyn Lanfear. Image courtesy of San Antonio Express News
Lanfear Way pays tribute to Marilyn Terry Lanfear, who sadly passed away on January 19, 2020. Born in Waco and raised in Corpus Christi, Lanfear eventually settled in central Texas, calling San Antonio home. She was known for using a diverse and broad range of materials and mediums to tell a story – watercolors, intricate buttons, wood and even sculpted lead. Lanfear’s four decades of work embodies her deep Texas spirit and is still displayed in various galleries and museums across Texas from San Antonio and Corpus Christi to El Paso and beyond. Lanfear lived all around the country honing her craft and teaching art to others including, spending time in the Pacific Northwest where she taught art at the University of Oregon. Additionally she lived in Seattle and eventually relocated to New York, before returning to her roots in Texas. After finally settling in San Antonio where she enjoyed teaching drawing, painting and design at San Antonio College and other area colleges and universities. Click to view more of Lanfear’s work as presented by San Antonio Museum of Art.
Riojas Road
Danila Riojas playing Native American Flute
Dedicated to Daniela Riojas, a skilled artist, gifted photographer, film maker, musician and portraitist. Riojas is a native of the Eagle Pass, a border town in South Central Texas, but now calls San Antonio home. Riojas uniquely blends performance art and everyday materials to create modern, provocative, multimedia pieces expressed through photography and video. Her work evokes strong emotional images which are pulled from her own past experience. Riojas’ talents and work have been recognized by being awarded a grant for Media Arts from the Cultural and Creative Department in San Antonio as well as the “Best of CAM” award during the 2016 San Antonio Contemporary Art Month. In addition to her inspiring performance art, she has also produced a short documentary about the Standing Rock Reservation. View more of Daniela’s inspiration here.
Asta Trail
Lituanian based Asta Buteniene crafts jewelry, miniature sculptures, mugs and small boxes. Her creations are small, delicate and whimsical and feature small cartoon-like animals, flowers and faces. Her shadow box sculptures feature a minimalist approach and use natural findings such as sticks and pebbles she hand selects from her surroundings. She has an online shop where she sells pebble art, earrings, necklaces, coffee mugs and her pebble art. If you don’t know exactly what you are looking for, she takes custom orders and will design something especially for you.
Harr Knoll
Harr Knoll is named for San Antonio born painter and teacher, Vie Dunn-Harr. From a young age, Vie realized her love of the arts and her talent was quickly recognized. At just 19 years-old, her paintings were featured during an exhibit at a local gallery in San Antonio. At the age of 21 she made painting her focus and became a teacher to help her students and connect with other creative people. She was inspired to travel to Florence, Italy and study in the birthplace of The Renaissance at the Lorenzo de Medici Instituto de Arte. Her inspiration comes from her life and those around her. “My works are a reflection of all that I see and those I know,” said Dunn-Harr. Much of her work consists of a colorful and realistic approach to flowers, particularly orchids and lilies. In recent years she has become intrigued with religious icons and churches where she showcases a delicate sensuality through her acrylic paintings.
These are just a few names of a multitude of artists that have given their art and passion to San Antonio through various forms of art, media, and culture. San Antonio has no shortage of artists that inspire the community everyday. It is our way to incorporate local arts and culture into VIDA, while paying tribute to those that create, inspire and represent the community.
Stay tuned for more in-depth profiles on these and other artists that will contribute to live #MyVIDA.