“Outside the Cathedral” at Tilteed

Tilteed used to print a lot of daring, artistic pieces like wotto’s “Guilty Pleasures“, a.mar.illo’s “Machine Art“, and zerobriant’s “Super Featherweight Champion“, which is why I was a tad disappointed when the curators’ selections mostly consisted of the more cute, cartoony stuff that gets printed at Threadless a lot, and mostly one/two-color designs at that.  They aren’t bad designs by any stretch of the imagination, nor are all of the selections of this style –  I’m just sad that I have yet to see anything that is the artistic or conceptual equal of any of the three aforementioned designs.  In my opinion, of course — I’m sure that the Tilteed curators have their own good reasons for picking what they picked!

That said, I have to say I was quite pleased with today’s new Limited tee, “Outside the Cathedral” by Blake Braden.  I’ve always loved the look of detailed linework on tees, and the delicate rendering of the building is just incredible.  The contrast between the flat, curving silhouette of the figure and the rigid, intricate cathedral is extremely interesting.  Even better, this shirt seems to tell a story.  Why is this man (spirit?) sitting here?  Why does he seem so gloomy? It makes you ask questions and think — the hallmarks of good art.

Another thing I like about this tee is that it works beautifully as a one-color print — it doesn’t look empty or lacking despite the absence of color.  In fact, it helps reinforce the mournful mood.  Bravo, Blake!  If I didn’t own too many white tees already, this would be a must-buy.

Here’s to hoping that we’ll see more stuff like this from Tilteed in the future!

Buy It: $12 at Tilteed.com, available for 72 hours only. (Pssst! Don’t forget to save with a coupon code.)

Other great deals to checkout:

• Exclusive Deals: Retreez
• Shirtspotting: Jinx, Tilteed, and Lead & Light
• Exclusive Deals: Tank Theory
• “JACKALOPE” at Tilteed
• Spring ’10: {miles to go}