“I’ve had a longtime relationship with bunny imagery in my work, as well as woodland creatures and nature, so creating art for retractableawningsale felt like a natural fit for me—and a fun project to add my aesthetic to”

R. Land explains his initial thoughts about the Artist Series. His first being “Little Bunny Foo Foo” that, since creating the original art piece, was sold as printed posters, on T-shirts, and eventually became a bestselling lunchbox—taking on a larger-than-life personality far beyond just an artwork.
The three pieces he created for the Atlanta Artist Series—”Shadrach,” “Meshach” and “Abednego”—are made with ink and acrylics on canvas. The names refer to three men that appear in the biblical Book of Daniel, who are thrown into a fiery furnace by Nebuchadnezzar II, King of Babylon, for refusing to bow down to his image.

R. Land’s connection with Atlanta is one that he finds hard to pinpoint, exactly, but to him it’s the energy that he gets from the city that informs most of what he does. He finds inspiration in the community, music, and the art of Atlanta itself.
The same kind of natural energy he draws from the city informs his creative process. “I don’t have a great answer for how I go about finding inspiration. Often, if I overthink the creative process and how I should approach it, it kind of stops the organic flow. So, I just let it happen however it’s going to happen,” R. Land casually muses.

 

He's always been driven by self-expression and creatively—even as a child—by whatever means at his disposal. “In the 80’s I started earning enough money from the sales of my work that I could quit my full-time job and dedicate my life to my passion,” R. Land said. His work ethic and art remain an inspiration for aspiring artists in Atlanta and around the world.

 

In describing what self-expression means to him in a mere three words, R. Land has this to say: “Can’t survive without.”

We caught up with Adam in New York City to chat about our limited-edition collaboration, the thrill of making real things and why T-shirts are so important to him—and for personal style, in general.

You make memes on a daily basis, but you also make tangible products, right?

Yeah, I spend a lot of time building brands at BrandFire, my agency. At the end of that, there’s the making of physical products, putting them on shelves and seeing people touch them, pick them up—it’s thrilling. Plus, I like to sculpt and I’m getting involved in a gallery show. We’re thinking about different media—I might paint some of my memes to bring them to life.

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You used the word thrilling. Why do you find making physical products so exciting? Is it because we’re in a world dominated by the online world—URL over IRL?

For me, I started my creative journey making tangible products. I’m 43 now—I’m not a digital baby—and when I started being a creative, there wasn’t Photoshop and Instagram, so my roots are in physical products. It’s thrilling and exciting because you’re transforming an idea into something real and tactile.

I actually used to work as a creative director at a T-shirt shop in Long Island in the ‘90s. I worked in the art department, but it was very close to where they’d do the printing, so I’d design them in my office then they’d come out a few meters away. I loved seeing the shirts come off the line; I loved the smell of it and picking them up off the press, when they were still hot. I’d get into mixing the colors. Being able to touch, and feel, and see, and smell my ideas—I got such a thrill out of seeing things come to life. It was extremely gratifying—being able to wear a T-shirt I designed and then seeing other people wear it. I feel the same way about these tees we’re making.

Speaking of the collaboration — where does the design come from?

For me, I started my creative journey making tangible products. I’m 43 now—I’m not a digital baby—and when I started being a creative, there wasn’t Photoshop and Instagram, so my roots are in physical products. It’s thrilling and exciting because you’re transforming an idea into something real and tactile.

I actually used to work as a creative director at a T-shirt shop in Long Island in the ‘90s. I worked in the art department, but it was very close to where they’d do the printing, so I’d design them in my office then they’d come out a few meters away. I loved seeing the shirts come off the line; I loved the smell of it and picking them up off the press, when they were still hot. I’d get into mixing the colors. Being able to touch, and feel, and see, and smell my ideas—I got such a thrill out of seeing things come to life. It was extremely gratifying—being able to wear a T-shirt I designed and then seeing other people wear it. I feel the same way about these tees we’re making.

What do you think the appeal of T-shirts is? Like—why choose the T-shirt as medium to bring the meme world into real life?

Well, for one—I love T-shirts and collect them. You have your favorite ones that you love, whether it’s from a musician or an artist collaboration or from a brand. It becomes this perfect expression of who you are and what you like and how you feel. It’s kind of the meme-equivalent of an article of clothing: It’s not necessarily a heavy investment and becomes accessible to everybody. Anybody can make a meme or consume a meme, just like anybody can make a T-shirt or wear one.

So it’s super accessible, but, at the same time, you can elevate it. You can wear a T-shirt with a blazer, or under a nice hoodie. You can dress it up, you can make it a staple of your wardrobe, you can wear it when you’re just hanging out. It’s the most versatile and accessible piece of clothing.

But I really think it comes back to expressiveness. That’s what people are tapping into when they wear a bright tee or a graphic tee—they’re showing people how they feel and what they’re into. A T-shirt strikes the perfect balance between culture and art and accessibility.