There are t-shirts and then there are works of art. Mostly the two are separate but when a team of creative intellectuals combine their talents to produce designs for t-shirts, the result can be both visually stunning and thought provoking. More than just a pretty item of casual wear, t-shirts can be insightful and eye-catching, and worthy of being mounted and hung above the fire place as they are of being worn to the supermarket.

The idea of using t-shirts as a form of art is becoming more and more widespread. Many artists are creating designs for t-shirts and many t-shirt designers incorporate works from famous artists or use the principles of art to create their designs. The high quality of many of the designs we see on t-shirts today is reflected in the wider availability of the same designs as prints and wall hangings. Art is no longer confined to dusty art galleries; it is walking past us every day on our way to work.

Art has been used for centuries as a way to explore ideas and provoke thought and discussion. It could be argued that modern day t-shirts are an extension of this idea. T-shirts can be designed by anyone who has access to a computer with appropriate software and a basic understanding of the principles of design. Designing our own t-shirts gives all of us the opportunity to question the values of society or present a different perspective in a non-threatening and often entertaining way.

A good example of art and t-shirts colliding is the Imaginary Foundation - an elusive group of intellectuals who believe in human progress and potential and want to encourage thought and learning through the power of the imagination. Their t-shirts focus on ideas from art and science, often combining the two in innovative and interesting ways. With such an amazing resource of creative energy to draw from, it is no accident that the Imaginary Foundation has chosen t-shirts as its way of expressing its ideas.

The ability to reach a wide audience may be one of the main appeals of t-shirt design for established artists and teams like the Imaginary Foundation. If you have a definite message you want to get across, putting it on t-shirts could be the ideal way to do it.

The added value of the clothing industry over more traditional forms of art, may be that rather than being seen predominantly by visitors to art galleries, t-shirts are visible everywhere and by a wide cross section of the population. Although art galleries may generally be visited more by those with an established interest in art, walking down the street in a t-shirt makes art visible to people who might otherwise not be exposed to it in their daily lives.