'Hi, How Are You?' Not So Good.
It adorns T-Shirts, stickers, posters and even has its own figurines, but Daniel Johnston's iconic mural, known as “Hi, How Are You?” is now adorned with something new: graffiti. Austinites woke up Monday morning to the news that Jeremiah the Innocent (as the frog is affectionately known) had been vandalized with illegible red words on his face and belly.
The mural which sits right off the Drag at 21st Street was originally created in 1993, according to KXAN. Johnston, the eccentric musician/artist who was featured in the popular 2006 documentary The Devil and Daniel Johnston, was paid $100 for his work (along with whatever records he could grab). The mural, commissioned by record store Sound Exchange, has become as synonymous with Austin as bats or food trucks. After Sound Exchange went out of business in 2004, the community rallied to get the new owners (Baja Fresh) to allow the mural to remain intact.
During a call to Crave Sushi, the current tenant, employees said they believed removal of the graffiti would fall under jurisdiction of the City of Austin. Representatives at the Public Information office of the Austin Police Department and the Historical Preservation office countered saying, since the mural is located on private property, it would be up to the owners to put in the request. A voicemail was left with the Austin Graffiti Abatement Program to determine if this request has been made.
