Cotton is more than the fabric of our lives, it is a screen, a place upon which we project our wishes, hopes, and dreams. It has become one of the most democratic mediums in the world, tearing the picture off the wall and breaking through the frame, then transposing it on to a t-shirt and inviting anyone to engage. No longer do photographs live in the rarified world of museums and galleries, prints and books. The photograph now lives on the shirtfront.
And when it is positioned here, it changes our relationship to the image. At once it becomes a symbol of the self, a projection out into the world. It is that which we choose and identify with, a way to communicate non-verbally to tell a story or myth. And in wearing art, we do more than simply advertise its existence; by wearing art we become one with it, in a way that paper can never make possible.
DRKRM is the brainchild of Dan Sears and James “Koe” Rodriguez, which has just launched its line of high quality apparel online. Rodriguez observes, “I’ve always viewed clothing and accessories as a perfect medium for self expression and art. I believe a great T-shirt has the same impact that a great painting has. Because clothing is a part of our everyday lives, it is a great vehicle for exposure and conversation. It’s also a practical and functional way to be creative, not to mention profitable, too.”
DRKRM focuses on the work of artists whose work has defined the world in which we live, photographers including Martha Cooper, Joe Conzo, and Jamel Shabazz. This triumvirate of talent has created some of the most definitive images of our time, providing us with a look at street style and culture as it was being created by those who lived it, and not by the marketing directors who cash in on the latest fads and trends.
In addition to the iconic imagery of these photographers, DRKRM provides an array of original work, including the unforgettable t-shirt, titled “Who Shot Ya?” which simply lists six of the most influential artists and filmmakers of our era: Ahearn, Chalfant, Conzo, Paniccioli, Shabazz. The design is at once simple and elegant, a tribute to these legends and their legacy. To name something is to make it so, and by grouping these six artists together, the way they have transformed our worldview, to honor them as individuals and as part of a larger cultural spirit for they to speak truth to power on all fronts. DRKRM emerges at a time when photography is becoming a far more democratic medium. With the advent of digital imaging, printing, and distribution, the costly aspects of the medium no longer make photography price prohibitive. This democratizing of the art helps to maintain its populist appeal, allowing for fans and aficionados to take the art off its pedestal and make it something more accessible in the world. The T-shirt is a key vehicle for this route, making it something that is for the people, by the people as an expression of a shared history and culture, as well as an expression of the self.
“I’ve always believed the glory is in the story,” says Rodriguez, who is a former graffiti artist turned graphic designer turned photojournalist turned photo agent. “We are telling stories through art. I feel it is my duty to explain and to share the history with the people. There is a science to these images, like the Dondi train photographed by Martha Cooper. This timeless masterpiece is arguably one of the most recognized subway cars of the New York graffiti movement. Flanked by Vaughn Bode cartoon characters, this Dondi classic represented Part 3 of his ‘Children of the Grave’ triology. We also did a second t-shirt of Dondi, photographed by Cooper. . Shot in 1980 at the New Lots Avenue train yard in Brooklyn, Marty beautifully captured Dondi in silhouette, painting Part 3 of the trilogy.” As the trains no longer exist but for these photographs, these images have become all that remains of Dondi’s masterpieces for graffiti is one of the most ephemeral of all the arts.
By creating wearable art at an affordable price, DRKRM ventures into a territory that has, over the past two decades, become one of the most revolutionary places for art and apparel to mix. As Rodriguez observes, “T-shirts will always be popular if they’re cool, but also if they can tap into someone’s lifestyle. I came up in the 1980s when people were customizing their clothes and accessories and learned very early that in order to really stand out you not only had to be cool, but unique as well.” And that’s what DRKRM brings to both the photography and apparel markets, a unique lifestyle brand that is being created by those who lived the art, not just profited off of it.
Miss Rosen
