Frightening headlines aside, it's actually nice to see someone with cultural influence like the director of exhibitions at the Art Institute of Boston, Andrew Mroczek, promoting the t-shirt as canvas. We've often advocated for framing t-shirt designs you absolutely love, but wouldn't love to wear.
What we really like about the exhibition, though, is that Mroczek and artists like Ben Colebrook challenge t-shirt aficionados to consider the iconic role of the t-shirt in human -especially military- history.
In speaking of Colebrook's hand-numbered t-shirts which indicate weekly death tolls in Iraq, Mroczek observes:
"He's not only looking at the T-shirt as a canvas, but the tees themselves represent a series of bodies, so there's an additional conceptional component there. I think the impact of the shirts could be overlooked individually. But when you see them grouped together, and see the numbers rise, it's very powerful."
Can't make it to Boston for this one? Check out the Beyond the Fluff & Fold: Contemporary Artists & the T-Shirt Flickr set kindly uploaded by the curator.
Can make it to Boston for this one. Great!
WHERE: The Art Institute of Boston Gallery at University Hall; 1815 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, Mass. 02140.
WHEN: Now – February 28, 2009
Tues. – Fri. 12 – 6 p.m.
Sat: 12 – 5 p.m.
For More Information, call the Gallery at University Hall at 617-585-6656.
Comments and trackbacks are SEO friendly. We may (rarely) delete any comment.
Basic HTML tags, such as < b>, < i> and < a> are allowed and encouraged.