DJ Patil Poster, 2019
Inkjet on paper, 24 x 36 inches
The poster was introduced by Shirt describing coming across it on a friend's
office wall and how both the very act of his friend enlarging a photo from the
internet, and the note itself, struck him as art. Posting on social media about it
the post went viral shared by thousands including the author. Originally, the
note was one of several similar written on White House stationery by DJ Patil,
the nation’s first Chief Data Scientist. It was included as one of several photos
released from a meeting between Mr. Patil, President Obama and others in 2015.
In March of 2019, Shirt began a dialogue with Mr. Patil, sharing his idea to produce
and sell the posters, and give part of the proceeds to charity. DJ [Patil] made clear
that although the note belonged to the people and Shirt was free to do what he
wanted, if possible he’d have one request: regarding charity he asked that Shirt
“do something that would’ve helped a younger him.” In April, Shirt began selling
a small number of posters on his website with the offer that “every five posters sold,
one is given to someone free.” The artist identifies those people through engagements
on his social media. In May and June, Shirt began to guerrilla install framed versions of
the poster around NYC, starting in his hometown Astoria, Queens. In July, Shirt
announced a number of posters would be available at famed NYC bookstore Printed
Matter and their online store.