Punch Lines

Austin cartoonist Lance Myers needs your help to make his Boxer a contender

Imagine if all your life, whenever you expressed your deepest hopes and dreams to others, they couldn't help but laugh at you.

For Twomey Martin, the star of Austin cartoonist Lance "Fever" Myers' latest animated short Boxer Story, that is the only reaction he has ever known. That's because the aspiring boxer has an odd disability: whenever he gets hit in the face (which boxers are wont to do quite often), instead of hearing a face being clubbed, we hear a joke, a literal punchline.

To follow his dream of becoming a championship boxer, Twomey must rise up against frustrating adversity, ignore the laughter, and give it his best shot.

For Myers, who has been working on film and video game animation for the better part of 20 years, Boxer Story is a tale he has been kicking around since 1992. Compelled by the struggle of an occupational fighter that struggles to be taken seriously, Myers saw Twomey as the embodiment of every emerging artist.

"Perhaps there have been times in my life that I have struggled with being taken seriously, and telling this story somehow scratches that itch," says Myers on his website.

Despite life's challenges for his own career, Myers has built quite an impressive animator's resume over the years, including work on animated films like Prince of Egypt, Anastasia and Richard Linklater's A Scanner Darkly. Most recently, he finished work on BioWare's galaxy-spanning Star Wars: The Old Republic multiplayer online game.

But Myers also holds a soft spot in his heart for animated shorts like Boxer Story that tell a concentrated slice-of-life story and require a personal touch from beginning to end. His award-winning shorts have appeared on Adult Swim as well as at festivals worldwide like SXSW and Spike and Mike's Sick and Twisted Animation Fesival.

Now he is looking for a little assistance from fellow art and animation lovers to get his latest project completed and out on the festival circuit. He is in the last week of his Kickstarter campaign to get Boxer Story finalized. Every dollar will help Myers along his journey, but large donations will also earn you excellent 'thank you' gifts signed by the artist himself.

Every month at the end of the lecture and debate variety show, The Dionysium, Myers asks the audience, "Who wants to see a cartoon?" before unveiling another one of his animated treasures. The answer, overwhelmingly, is always met with wild applause.

Now you have the opportunity to help make a cartoon. And that's no laughing matter.

New

Historic Austin museum will close for more than a year for restoration

Elisabet Ney Museum Austin

Photo courtesy of the City of Austin

The Elisabet Ney Museum will close at the end of 2024 and reopen in mid-2026.

Every building needs some maintenance here or there, and the historic Elisabet Ney Museum needs some extra-special care. Formerly the art studio and residence of its namesake, it's been standing since 1892. It'll spend 2025 in relative solitude, as it undergoes renovation for a year and a half with no visitors allowed.

The museum will close to the public December 30, 2024, and open again in the summer of 2026 if all goes according to plan, a news release from the City of Austin shares. It'll be a quiet period compared to the 21,000 people visiting from around the world each year.

According to a museum overview on the city's website, Elisabet Ney, a European portrait sculptor, bought the property and called her new studio Formosa. She worked on sculptures depicting important Texans like Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston, and collected works of European contemporaries.

The building at 304 East 44th St. includes 3,700 square feet of museum space, which was converted by Ney's friends after her death in 1907. It retains its unique look that juxtaposes a Neo-Classical main studio from 1892 with a later addition from 1902 including a tower for her husband, Edmund, to write in. It is also on 2.5 acres of land, which has largely been restored to its natural state with native species.

A press release lists these tasks (verbatim) within the scope of the new work, referred to as the Capital Improvement Project (CIP):

Restoration of original exterior wood doors and windows
Upgrades and replacement of the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system
Replacement of the exhibit and general lighting systems
Repairs to the roof, masonry, plumbing, and interior finishes.

There will also be work to do outside of the building. Workers will replace the pedestrian bridge across Waller Creek, stabilize a 20,000-square-foot portion of the bank, and make the grounds more accessible by adding new pathways.

Funding comes from several sources, according to a release: "the 2012 Bond, Proposition 14, the Parkland Dedication Fund, the Historic Preservation Fund, Partners in Preservation through the National Trust, and contributions from the Friends of the Elisabet Ney Museum."

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