This collection of text-based T-shirts harks back to the early days of the graphic tee. Each shirt was created in collaboration with one of three contemporary artists active in the US and UK art scenes. We hope that their words and graphics will inspire you to talk about love and share in the joy of life. First up is Los Angeles-based artist Cali Dewitt, who shares a message of love and freedom through art that confronts the problems of contemporary society.
T-shirts are an easy way for everyone to communicate.
Cali Dewitt moved from Canada to Los Angeles at the age of three and grew up surrounded by the many underground subcultures of LA, where he still lives. The pieces he designed for this collection are extensions of two of his most famous works. One is his series of plastic signs, which combine short phrases lifted from the flood of headlines, advertisements, and spam emails we’re bombarded with every day with some of the countless provocative images that can be found online. The other is a series of memorial sweatshirts inspired by the hoodies popularized in the 1990s by LA’s Hispanic gangs, who would create the personalized sweatshirts at swap meets to mourn someone who had died.
“I can tell you the exact inspiration for the plastic sign series,” says Dewitt. “I was at a Mexican restaurant in Lincoln Heights. They had a sign with a burrito on it that said, ‘Now Available.’ I kept looking at it as I ate, thinking ‘what if the picture and words were different?’ I started noticing signs like it all over LA, and I realized that I had to find the place where they were making them and use it to make my own designs.”
Dewitt uses the same size and layout as that original burrito sign to this day. “It went from a burrito to UNIQLO!” he jokes. It took a little more effort to get the sweatshirt series started. “You used to be able to find the stands making these sweatshirts everywhere,” Dewitt explains. “But one day, I went to make one, and they were gone. I went to lots of swap meets, but no one made them anymore—at least, not in the old way in which I wanted them made. Eventually, I found a company in Michigan that sold iron-on letters in Old English font—the same one used in the original memorial sweatshirts—to schools and sports teams. I got a heat press and ordered the letters and started making the sweatshirts myself. It was about loving a thing and wanting to continue it even though the rest of the world had moved on. I haven’t made them for a long time, but I still have the heat press here in my studio.”
Dewitt describes a typical day in his life. He stays with his son and wife throughout the morning and then leaves to bike and work at 11:30am. After work, he goes home and cooks dinner for his family. He puts his son to bed, watches a movie, and goes to sleep by 11 p.m. Dewitt’s day-to-day life is just as free, relaxed, and healthy as you’d expect of an LA native.
“These T-shirt designs are about love and freedom,” he says. “In spite of all of the problems in the world, I want to send a message of love and freedom.”
When designing these shirts, the first thing Dewitt did was to come up with a concept. He decided on the photos to use, then used Photoshop to put it all together. “A T-shirt is a way of communication,” he says. “The graphics and text are a way to communicate something to others. Everyone communicates in this way, and it is something affordable that everyone can reach. And that’s what makes it great.”
This T-shirt is in the style of Dewitt’s plastic sign series. He superimposes a message of concern for the world over a beautiful photograph of white roses.
The left chest of this T-shirt features a motivational phrase over a light bulb. The text on the back is printed in the style of a memorial sweatshirt from 1990s Los Angeles.
It can be tempting to look around at all that’s happening in the world and think, “Now what?” This design is available as a cap or a hoodie.
PROFILE
Cali Dewitt | Cali Dewitt is an artist who was born in Canada in 1973 but has been living in LA since 1977. His many collaborative partners include Tremaine Emory and Virgil Abloh. Dewitt dreams of going on a 30-day cycling trip from Los Angeles to New York.
Release dates and prices may vary. Some items might be limited to certain stores or countries of sale or may be sold out.
© Cali Dewitt
