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Miranda Purves
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Last week we showed you Summer Rayne Oakes's current favorite design in our Planet Green and Hessnatur Eco T-Shirt Design Challenge; this week, ELLE Lifestyle Editor Miranda Purves calls out the designs that she can't get out of her head.
"Wow! There are so many impressive and original designs coming in that I had a very hard time narrowing my favorites down to one pick for the week. I finally had to throw away any attempts at objective analysis and go with a subjective criteria: which one would I want to wear? It was still a tug of war. "
"I love Kylie's childlike tree with the phrase Green is Beautiful running up the trunk. It has a by-hand quality that is very appealing and current. Possibly unintentionally, the tree, drawn in graphite, takes on a slightly sinister cast — it could almost be a mushroom cloud. The ambiguity is successful — green is not just beautiful, but the alternative is apocalyptic and terrifying."
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| Kylie |
"Finally, though, my pick of the week is Max Fandenbergh's Jesus Kwakwaka'wakw, an interpretation of a drawing done by a member of the native tribe now known as Kwakwaka'wakw, from what is now known as British Columbia, Canada. The ethical problem of cultural appropriation comes up here — is it fair to sell an image copied from a native, when that artist or his descendants won't benefit? This matters, and, it's an ethical conundrum that is in every way connected to how we treat the environment: what is ours to sell and profit from? Water? Fish in the sea? Who should profit? Who should suffer when they are poisoned, or gone?
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| Max Fandenbergh |
But I think we can leave those big, difficult question aside for now, since this contest is still in its early stages, and just appreciate the image. First, the carvings, totem poles, and paintings of the Kwakwka'wakw are awesome in the old-fashioned sense of that word. Borrowing from them is a smart move on Max's part — kind of like recreating a Matisse. It's guaranteed to look good! Aside from the picture's graphic power, the image makes you think. The destruction of First Nations culture and community — by missionaries, by colonialism, by industrialism — was concurrent with the rapid environmental destruction that has brought us to this impasse. Can we atone? Can we turn back the clock? Is the whole concept of sin part of what stops us, as people and as economic forces, from having a healthier relationship to the earth? If we are banned from the Garden of Eden because of original sin, on some unconscious level do we believe there is no point? Christianity and European culture forced itself on pre-existing cultures who engaged with nature more sympathetically — is the payback, a ruined planet, what we are experiencing now?
So, this t-shirt design, in asking more questions than it answers, doesn't simplify or evade a complex problem, and, perhaps more importantly, for a piece of fashion, it's the one I'd most love to throw on right now to tuck into my gray high-waisted American Apparel jean skirt (if only this skirt were Hessnatur's organic cotton too!)."
It's not too late to submit your own design—the deadline for entries is September 1, 2009, and noon—and you can even download a template to get inspired. The grand prize winner will see his or her image printed on Hessnatur tees sold around the world, but entries are limited to one per person—so get drawing!
More on the Planet Green and Hessnatur Eco T-Shirt Design Challenge
Summer Rayne Oakes's T-Shirt Design PIck of the Week
Uploading, Voting, and Entry Details
The Grand, Green Winning Prize of a Lifetime!
