T-Shirt
1985 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The Cloth was founded in 1983 by former RCA students Helen Manning, Brian Bolger, Fraser Taylor and David Band, a group of artists with a common interest in painting. This is reflected in their free, abstract and semi-abstract designs.
The group’s t-shirt designs were very successful, and were sold on the high street in shops like Marks and Spencer and Scotch House. The Cloth were even asked to design a t-shirt for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. The design printed on this t-shirt is by Keith Haring, the American artist and activist, known for his graffiti style referencing 1980s New York street culture that conveyed messages about sexuality, life and death. The abstracted dancing figure shown on this particular t-shirt is very painterly in style. The printed ‘paint’ trails which ‘run’ down the figure’s body evoke the sweat and heightened excitement of the nightclub or warehouse party. The boldness and freedom of the image would have appealed to the rave scene, which was then in its infancy.
The group’s t-shirt designs were very successful, and were sold on the high street in shops like Marks and Spencer and Scotch House. The Cloth were even asked to design a t-shirt for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. The design printed on this t-shirt is by Keith Haring, the American artist and activist, known for his graffiti style referencing 1980s New York street culture that conveyed messages about sexuality, life and death. The abstracted dancing figure shown on this particular t-shirt is very painterly in style. The printed ‘paint’ trails which ‘run’ down the figure’s body evoke the sweat and heightened excitement of the nightclub or warehouse party. The boldness and freedom of the image would have appealed to the rave scene, which was then in its infancy.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | printed cotton |
| Brief description | T-shirt, blue cotton printed with green figure, Keith Haring for The Cloth, London, 1985 |
| Physical description | Short-sleeve blue cotton t-shirt, size XXXL, printed with a stylised, green, dancing figure in the centre of the chest. The figure has a thick black outline and is rendered in a painterly manner with trails of black 'paint' running downward. |
| Dimensions |
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| Production type | Ready to wear |
| Credit line | Given by Helen Clark (Helen Manning of The Cloth) |
| Object history | Registered file number 2013/670 |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | The Cloth was founded in 1983 by former RCA students Helen Manning, Brian Bolger, Fraser Taylor and David Band, a group of artists with a common interest in painting. This is reflected in their free, abstract and semi-abstract designs. The group’s t-shirt designs were very successful, and were sold on the high street in shops like Marks and Spencer and Scotch House. The Cloth were even asked to design a t-shirt for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. The design printed on this t-shirt is by Keith Haring, the American artist and activist, known for his graffiti style referencing 1980s New York street culture that conveyed messages about sexuality, life and death. The abstracted dancing figure shown on this particular t-shirt is very painterly in style. The printed ‘paint’ trails which ‘run’ down the figure’s body evoke the sweat and heightened excitement of the nightclub or warehouse party. The boldness and freedom of the image would have appealed to the rave scene, which was then in its infancy. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.58-2013 |
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| Record created | August 22, 2013 |
| Record URL |
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