Hays graduate, photographer, graphic designer Zak Dennis will be displaying his art Oct. 1-3 at the Buda Fine Arts Fest. (Self-Portrait by Zak Dennis)
by JEN BIUNDO
Fresh from art class at Austin Community College, Zak Dennis looks a bit like a walking version of one of his photographs, a digitally altered picture that shows a close-in crop of a young man in paint-splattered jeans, the lighting and color intensified into a cool mod glow, and the text, “wear your passion,” marching across the top of the frame.
“If it’s not all over me, I’m not doing it right,” Dennis said with a laugh.
That combination of under-your-fingernails paint, mixed with a shot of digital savvy, defines Dennis’s emerging artistic vision. Just 20 years old, the Hays High School graduate is part of the millennial generation that effortlessly incorporates digital media into a new kind of artwork.
Dennis is displaying his work next month at the seventh annual Buda Fine Arts Festival Oct. 1 – 3 at the city greenbelt. The juried exhibition will feature more than 50 artists from Central Texas and beyond, and kicks off next Friday with the Art After Dark gala.
Dennis’s work spans a wide variety of mediums. In addition to painting, photography and graphic design, he also likes playing with printmaking, screen-printing, digital video, poetry and commercial art for bands.
He’s an artist who’s still experimenting, still finding his voice, and still in love with the exploratory process. As a result, the best of his pieces feel fresh, creative, urban and – there’s no other way to phrase it – distinctly cool.
Like many in his generation, Dennis pulls inspiration from a grab-bag of aesthetics – skateboarding, propaganda, Vincent Van Gogh, street art, old-school typography, jeans commercials, 1970s Polaroid cameras, Jackson Pollack. That mash-up of styles can create a hip and compelling look, but it also runs the risk of being derivative.
“It’s very hard to grasp it,” Dennis said. “You either hit it or you miss it. You hit it when the elements of the design all work together.”
At this point in his life, Dennis’s art doesn’t push a weighty social or political agenda. In both his digital works and his paintings, he’s more interested in conveying an emotion and an aesthetic to his viewers.
Buda Fine Arts Festival
On the greenbelt in Historic Downtown Buda.
• Saturday, October 2, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and
• Sunday, Oct. 3, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Art After Dark Gala Friday, October 1, 7-10 p.m.
