The allure of the “real thing” discovered through reprinted T-shirts【20th UT ARCHIVE vol.9　 Matthew Brannon】

Countless alluring graphics have adorned UT items to date. As we mark UT’s 20th anniversary this year, an archive project has started to reprint some of our past offerings. What kinds of feelings and emotions rest in the motifs that have transcended time and are loved by people all over the world? Let’s explore this through the words of the creators and those involved. This time, we spoke with artist Matthew Brannon, whose work was featured on UTs released in 2015. Using his graphical works to expose contemporary issues, what is his take on art?

What can art accomplish in the personal space of T-shirts?

Q. Please give us your frank opinion regarding the re-release of the T-shirt on this occasion.

A. I was really thrilled to hear about it. So much of our contemporary culture is hyper-focused on the next thing. However, I think it’s healthy to look back every so often. This reissuing of a shirt feels like a second chance.

Q. How did the lion artwork used on this T-shirt come into being?

A. I’ve always been a cat person. One of the qualities of cats, big and small, that I appreciate is their independent amusement. In 2015, when Uniqlo asked me for images I was working on a series of drawings of big cats called “Not Uninteresting.” focused on these characteristics inherent in cats. The lion came out of that series.

Matthew Brannon Studio, Long Island City, New York, 2022

Q. What do you think about having your work featured on the medium of a T-shirt and seen by people worldwide?

A. Nothing makes me happier. T-shirts are a very personal space. Anyone wearing a t-shirt has their own relation to that shirt. I wish all my art projects could have the international reach that Uniqlo does.

Q. Do you have any T-shirts that you just can’t part with?

A. I still have a number of band t-shirts from high school. I was a diehard “goth" kid in the 80s. I have this one Bauhaus band t-shirt I wore until it was a see-through tissue. Part of it is the years I can remember when I wear or look at it.

Q. What do you want to express through your art? What message do you want to convey?

A. I used to say that I wanted my art to be a pleasant irritation. Meaning something irresolvable that’s amusing, rewarding, or productive to consider. Now I’m unsure. The world has changed so much and there’s enough stress in the world. So, I have to keep returning to this question.

Beach reading on Nantucket Island. “The Road to Dien Bien Phu” by Christopher Goshsa, Princeton University Press, 2022

Q. What does art mean to you?

A. What is the saying? “No one needs art to live, but art makes life worth living.” I’m unsure what it means these days. I think what people call ‘art’ has shifted in my lifetime.

Silkscreen artwork in progress, Matthew Brannon Studio

PROFILE

Matthew Brannon, Artist. Born 1971, Anchorage, Alaska. BA, University of California, Los Angeles, CA - Summa cum Laude in 1995. MFA, Columbia University, NY in 1999. Lives and works in New York, New York, Nantucket, Massachusetts and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Matthew Brannon uses traditional methods to discuss contemporary concerns. His consistent paring of text and image creates an irresolvable tension of meaning. His focus often concerns how we are our own worst enemies.