Everyone loves a hero. Too long the canon of art heros have languished in art galleries, only beheld by a small percentage of teh population. Nowt wrong with galleries ofcourse, ideal places to while away an afternoon, especially the cafes. They always have cafes attached don't they? Great places to contemplate art as well, because they're so quiet, because no body goes.

We can argue just how many people do go to galleries, but consider this equation:

a= how many people go to galleries

b=how many people walk down the streets

a<b QED

There's very little doubt that a is smaller than b.

T shirts are the new means of getting art to the audience. Everyone owns a T shirt, its very ubiquity is its greatest asset.

In 1960 Andy Warhol screenprinted his work so as to resemble mass-production. A good start. But he should have embraced it, made work for everyone that wanted it.

Sometimes you see T shirts for sale as limited editions. Fine if the means of making them only lasts for x uses. But when it is an artificially imposed limit... what is being done is raising the perceived value by restricting access, and that is not what the T shirt is about.

T shirt art must be accessible to all. Of course UK artists' work cannot be priced as cheaply as mass-produced stuff from the far East - unfortunately artists have to survive at Western prices - but T shirt prices must be low, T shirts must be easily ordered and available to all.

Why should only millionaires be able to buy real art? Why should art, once purchased languish on a wall, looked at by the favoured few? Up til now art has priced people out of the market...

Not anymore.

© 2004 conceptTshirts