Bill Narum
Bill Narum (January 11, 1947-November 18, 2009) was a celebrated illustrator and Texas counter-culture icon known for his work in popular entertainment, and for being one of the few non-natives to have lived with the Tarahumara tribe of northern Mexico in Copper Canyon. He was also the brother of artist Heidi Narum Hyatt.
In the late 1960s Narum co-founded the Houston, Texas FM rock and roll radio station KLOL and worked as art director for Space City News, an underground newspaper. [1] In the 1970s a friendship with guitarist Billy Gibbons led him to become the house artist for rock band ZZ Top, designing posters, album covers, and stage sets.[2] Narum also provided murals for ZZ Top's fleet of semis.
Narum created concert posters for many artists including Captain Beefheart, Ravi Shankar and Humble Pie. [2] Music venues such as the Armadillo World Headquarters and Continental Club also used Narum's posters to promote their monthly slate of acts.[3]
In 1993 he was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation from the City of Austin, Texas where he resided.
Narum later went on to work for the computer game development company Origin Systems[4], and followed by opening his own game development company, 'Go-Go Studios in Austin, Texas in the mid-1990s where he acted as art director and CEO.
In 2005 he was elected president of the board of directors for the South Austin Museum of Popular Culture[5]. A retrospect of Narum's work was the subject of a 2005 art show at the museum, titled “You Call That Art.” [3]
On Saturday, November 28, 2009 there was a tribute at Threadgill's restaurant to honor Narum, with proceeds going to establish a memorial fund.
References
External links
- Bill Narum's personal web site
- Bill Narum's Facebook profile
- Houston Press article
- Austin Chronicle article
- Austin 360 article
- South Austin Museum of Popular Culture
- The Rag Blog