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Texas artist begins
anniversary exhibit
The Texas Sesquicentennial is
still five years away, but one of
the state's leading western
artists is already working on the
big celebration.
Cowboy artist Jim Thomas
has begun his five-year
documentation of 150 years of
Texas history in sculpture.
The awsome project will cul
minate in 1986, the year of the
state's Sesquicentennial, which
is shaping up to be the birthday
bash of the century. Thomas has
even moved his studio from
Amarillo to Austin because he
believes the Capital City is the
logical place to carry out his his
torical mission.
Thomas' authentically de
tailed bronze sculptures depict
ing the lifestyle of the modem
cowboy grace art collections
worldwide, including that of
former President Gerald Ford.
Thomas will participate ac
tively in the Texas Sesquicenten
nial, primarily through the small
but elitist Texas Cowboy Asso
ciation (TCA) of which he is
resident. To commemorate the
esquicentennial, he is working
on TCA's second book,"150
years of the Texas Cowboy,"
and is planning special art
shows featuring the TCA art
work which will illustrate the
book.
Thomas will concentrate
almost entirely on historic art.
He will also help preserve the
state's historic buildings by re
producing and restoring the
architectural artifacts, such as
hinges, door knobs and fixtures.
He prefers to do his own bronze
casting operating out of his stu
dio foundry.
Thomas' latest sculpture re
flects the historic theme. "Cow
boy Country Club," nearing
completion, is a large sculpture
depicting a tum-of-the-century
campsite scene. The centerpiece
is a 24-inch bronze chuck wagon
with all working parts, wood
grained and detailed down to
the last nut and bolt.
"It's accurate because it's
scaled from my own personal
chuck wagon," Thomas said.
The twelve figures surround
ing the wagon include. "Too
Thin to Plow and Too Thick to
Drink" (cowboys pouring cof
fee), "Sourdough Man" (camp
cook with rolling pin) and "A
Stitch in Time" (cowboy repair
ing saddle).
The "Country Club" edition
will have just five castings with
the artist retaining the final one.
The chuck wagon and indi
vidual figures are available sing
ly in limited editions.
"Forgotten Ancestors" is an
even larger sculpture of a full-
scale Longhorn steer skull with
five-foot horns, partially buried
in the sand with a Spanish Con
quistador skull and helmet.
Like many cowboy artists,
Thomas is self-taught. A west
ern historian and former jour
nalist, he was a successful
advertising executive when he
started dabbling in art 17 years
ago. At the time cowboy art was
just beginning to gain recogni
tion. Thomas did a five-state
market study which indicated
western art would be the com
ing rage.
An expert photographer,
Thomas began riding with
working cowboys, capturing au
thentic scenes from which to
sculpt his realistic bronzes.
Within three years, he estab
lished himself as a western
artist.
His award-winning sculpture
has been shown in major ex
hibits and been published in
leading art journals, the Wall
Street Journal, Southern Living
and other national publications.
And his earlier market study
proved correct. Cowboy — or
western — art has captured the
fancy of collectors worldwide,
becoming one of the most suc
cessful art forms in the world.
Thousands of participants jammed the San Jacinto
River in last year's KRBE Ramblin' Raft Race. This
year's race will be on the Brazos River near
Richmond, Texas. Sailing time is 11 a.m. Saturday.
B-CS to be swamped
by new movie theaters
By Colette Hutchings
Battalion Staff
Bryan-College Station won't be at a loss for
movie theaters before long.
Nine new theaters are planned for the area,
with six possibly opening in time for the rash of
new movies coming in December.
Bill Schulman, owner and manager of Campus
Theater, Manor East Theaters and the Skyway
Twin Drive-Inn, is building a six-screen complex
on 29th Street in Bryan, next to the Drive-Inn.
Schulman's son Craig said the company hopes
to have the complex completed and operating by
mid-December.
"We've had a lot of setbacks, but so far that's
when we hope to have it completed," Schulman
said.
Plitt Theater Corp., a franchise already operat
ing in Bryan, has plans to open a three-theater
complex in the Post Oak Mall being built off High
way 30 in College Station.
Bill Curtis, vice-president of Plitt Southern
Theaters, said the original plan was to build a
5-theater complex outside the mall. The theaters
were to be completed by Christmas.
Since plans changed, however, Curtis said he
doesn't expect the 3-theater-complex to be ready
until February.
Schulman said the influx of new theaters will
definitely increase the number of movies in the
area but doubts that new movies will be shown
here any sooner than they are now. Many movies
don't make it to B-CS until after they have com
pleted runs in larger cities.
"A lot depends on the release date of the
movie," Schulman said. Bigger cities are given
different film release dates than the smaller cities,
he said, and since B-CS falls into the latter, most of
the movies have been out a while by the time they
play here.
Ramblin’ rafts
set sail Saturday
Hundreds of people will be rollin' on the river this Saturday
during the third annual KRBE Ramblin' Raft Race.
The race, sponsored by the Houston radio station, will be on
the Brazos River, just outside of Richmond. Last year's race
drew over 12,000 participants and nearly as many modes of
flotation.
This year, free music will be provided by Hall and Oates and
Silver Condor, beginning at 12:30. Hall and Oates appear at 4.
The race is coordinated by the American Rafting Association
(ARA). Competition is divided into two categories. The first is
for Rubber Rafts, inflatable rafts made of canvas, vinyl or rubber.
Participants in this category range from five-man inflatable rafts
down to the lowly innertube.
The second division is Ramblin' Rafts, which is where the fun
begins, as entrants design, engineer and build their own crafts.
Prizes are awarded in each division, with special awards for
most original raft, most spirited crew and raft that collects the
most litter during the race.
Registration is open to anyone in the state. Richmond is
located 15 miles southwest of Houston off Highway 90A.
For more information, call the radio station at 713-960-0123.
FOCUS
Editor Cathy Saathoff
Assistant Editor .... Debbie Nelson
Staff Writer Colette Hutchings
Cartoonist Scott McCullar
Graphic Artist.. Richard DeLeon, Jr.
Focus will accept any items submitted
for publication, although the decision
to publish lies solely with the editor.
Deadline is 5 p.m. the Thursday before
publication.
By Colette Hutchings
How much is that dolly in the window?
By Colette Hutchings
Hey, buddy, can you spare a quarter?
By Debbie Nelson
8
On the cover: Are you a
video maniac? The number
one game seems to change
every month, but the play
ers - bug-eyed, quarter
popping button-pushers
— never change. For an in-
depth look at video games
and the culture they have
produced, see pages 8 and
9. Cover photo by Dave
Einsel.