Yes, but Is It ART?

If you purchased a Free Katie shirt or any of my Cafe Press designs, consider it a limited edition. I'm not making them anymore. My Cafe Press Store is going down tomorrow. If you need something from there buy it tonight. 

It was a wonderful time.

It helped me gain my voice.

It finally made me break up with Hollywood (or at least redefine my terms) but now it is time to say goodbye to Free Katie.

With perfect Warholian symmetry, I had my 15 minutes of fame creating something very Pop. I always kept my Free Katie designs in the ghetto of my artistic life but I'm finally ready to say "Yes, it is art." I'm an artist and I made it. What more do you need? If The Suck Lord can be embraced by the Art World, Free Katie can too. 

Can I be blamed because People Magazine liked it? Does being in Star make it any less iconic? Was I supposed to say "No" to KROQ (listen here) or  to the British film crew? And, more importantly, should I be afraid for my children because I used satire to criticize a member of the Hollywood elite? I had threats but I also had threats from Britney Spears fans. Scientology does not have the market cornered on nutty behavior in the face of criticism.

 

I could counter with my mentions in the The New York Times, Newsweek, LA Times, Vogue and Vanity Fair. I felt slightly protected by mainstream media embracing my story.  I was interviewed by NPR(listen here) and much later Iggy Pop mentioned Free Katie t-shirts in an interview.

Honestly, I would trade it all for that moment again (11:50 in this interview with Terry Gross). Iggy Pop uttered something that came from my brain and Terry Gross laughed. A key of my idea found the lock in his head...he uttered it, it happened and, for a minute, it mattered.

Stay tuned for what comes next. I will probably roll out some limited edition t-shirts with old school designs and new ideas every so often. Whatever it is, it will come from me and I will be proud of it, forever.

What?! Vogue...yes.

 

Maybe one day Vanity Fair will write some huge article about me but I'm happy just to have my "Fitzie is My Homeboy" gear mentioned. Remember when Lindsay could still look fresh?

Bruce Villanch in one of my shirts on TMZ. A few recognizable names did buy some Free Katie gear but I'll never tell...

On to the next chapter.

Comments

[Elizabeth]

Damn. That's an awesome retrospective. May you have many more!

[Vesuvius At Home]

Oh my stars! I remember loving those shirts, I had no idea it was you that created them. You should be proud. Of course it's art. Culturally significant, statement-making, eye-pleasing design, what more can you ask? Excuse me, I'm feeling a little star-struck.

(Pacey and Joey forever).

[Sheila Cameron]

Yep that was me. I have it in my "about me" page. I never really hid it but I didn't quite own it here either. I still wonder what I could have done if I had more time to work on something when it took off...

[erin]

Fun to put that all together... imagine what you can come up with next?