Artifacts

Back in the day, in fact, it was "way back in the day", we printed t-shirts to sell at multimedia shows. I mean, having a merch table at a show often makes the tour possible. In the fall of 1994 we made two; the front each had "Kiss or Kill" printed in tiny script over where a chest pocket would be and, on the back, either a silhouette image of Alex Lowe on a route called "Prophet on a Stick" (below) or the hand-drawn topo for "Deprivation" on the north buttress of Mount Hunter, which Scott Backes and I had climbed in May 1994. We offered the shirts in black or white.

I placed the original color slide in an enlarger in the darkroom, which inverts the positive image, and printed the projected image on Ilford photo paper, developed it in the darkroom chemistry and then used the resulting print for the silkscreen and t-shirt printing. The tech was consistent with the period, at least with our understanding and access. The Alex shirts sold out quickly. It was a striking image and route for the era, with Alex doing the first ascent in the winter of 1991-92 (if memory serves). The lower part of the free-hanging dagger had broken off when Alex first mounted up, while the bolt placed on the rock wall meant he would pendulum to ‘safety’ if the whole feature snapped above his head.

The other shirt, with the "Deprivation" topo, wasn't as popular but we sold plenty. Sadly, I do not have either of the shirts in my collection of memorabilia so it was a great and happy surprise when Vince Anderson turned up at the 2024 Bozeman Ice Fest wearing his "Deprivation" shirt. It was a time travel sort of moment that took me back to the miles and miles of driving, to rehearsing and building the shows, to the utter intensity of a 1000 watt sound system rattling windows and four-way racks in the small retail spaces where we gave the shows. The shirt is almost in mint condition, hung in a closet and only worn for special occasions, and this was certainly special and memorable. When Blair posted this image on her social media feed a number of people wondered if they still existed and if not, "will Mark reprint them?"

I had no idea there might be interest in these artifacts but hell, if there is, then a second, modern run might could happen. Stay tuned.