Threadless T-Shirts - Profile for catboy17

catboy17 aka Peter is a 19.01 year old boy, has been a member since June 11, 2005, has scored 36 submissions, giving an average score of 3.06.

Mar 03 '08 by catboy17

8 Comments

Watch this

meaning?

about In Pachydermic Fashion

ok, so I know shirts don't HAVE to have an obvious meaning, but I was just wondering if this one happened to have one? I know it's a sequel to In Oceanic Fashion and perhaps the problem is that I had no idea what that one meant either, but this one is visually really appealing to me so I was just wondering what people's (or the designer's) thoughts are on it. Am I just missing the point or reading too much into it or what?

mezo on Mar 03 '08 at 2:40pm

It's ok to come up with your own interpretations. That's what art is all about.

shirtflirt on Mar 03 '08 at 2:44pm

if there was a point
and you were aware of it
would that negate your own personal reaction?

Vindemiatrix on Mar 03 '08 at 2:49pm

I always think of "In Oceanic Fashion" as a comment on the ruthlessness of the fashion industry, even though I'm pretty sure that's not was intended. Don't know how this one would fit in with that. Honestly, I think it's just supposed to be a cool juxtaposition of incongruous stuff. :)

WEContact on Mar 03 '08 at 4:59pm

I think being aware of the point of art doesn't negate my own reaction. I just got the Madness of Mission 6 in the mail today and I can appreciate it on both fronts very ably.

catboy17 on Mar 03 '08 at 5:17pm

Hmm, interesting question. I would say that a different interpretation wouldn't necessarily negate a personal reaction, but at the same time you are saying something by wearing a certain shirt (or at least the expectation is likely there that you are) so especially with a less artsy shirt like You've Got Some Splaining to Do, if you see it as just a cute food with faces design and don't see the racial undertones, you're probably sending out a certain message that you're not intending to. As for this shirt, I suppose I love apocalyptic themes and sort of see some of that here, with the divers masks somewhat reminiscent of gas masks, though I don't assume that that was intended.

catboy17 on Mar 03 '08 at 5:25pm

And further if as an artist I'm trying to make a pretty clear statement (which is not always the case and probably isn't true here), I might be annoyed if someone is too caught up in artsy liberal bs to think that my point in making the work is no more authoritative than a viewer's interpretation, though this all depends on attitude. Also if you're walking around wearing Madness of Mission 6 and somebody else notices the Pacman reference when you never did, you might seem a little ignorant of part of the point of your own t-shirt, so in general I think if you're going to adopt any sort of art it's not a bad idea to at least understand any meaning that the artist put into the work, as well as your own interpretations.

tunkamerica on Mar 04 '08 at 1:04am

The ocean is a desert with it's life underground.....

-Horse with no name; America