Shepard Fairey
Background Shepard Fairey is considered to be the artist who started street art awareness which has gone to an extreme in popularity and exposure in our world. He has been making art for 20 years, and over time has become a well renowned artist, although he originally thought of himself a regular guy making t-shirts and posters. His older and newer work is remarkable. He has had many sold out solo exhibitions and many famous people have purchased his often large scale pieces. Fairey originally discovered his passion for art though skateboarding and punk rock and this really does radiate in his artistic style.
Early Work He did the well known Andre the Giant stickers when he was teaching a friend to make stencils and came across it in a newspaper. People responded to this image right away and began interpreting its meaning in many different ways that fascinated him. It is estimated over a million of these Andre the Giant stickers circulated. This was the start to his amazing style which he explained best when he said “I really believe the passion of the application translates to the viewer.” He is now a regularly recognized part of pop culture - for example his work has even been in The Family Guy television show.
OBEY
The Streets Fairey has been arrested 15 times for the risks involved with street art. He is notoriously known for the lengths he went to get his art up, and is famed because of the sheer amount he was able to get up. Some of his first commercial jobs employed his graphic skills on a political level. A recent work he did on the Smashing Pumpkins album cover is an image of a submerged Statue of Liberty referencing both global warming and the diminished value of Americans.
His Work
Cont.
Peace Mujer – Stencil collage on canvas 30’ x 43
War By Numbers – Mixed media on wood 16 x 11 2007
Chinese Soldiers – Stencil collage on paper 30’ x 44’ 2007
Peace Goddess – Stencil collage on canvas 30’ x 43’ 2007
Toxic Dept. – Mixed media on wood 16’ x 11’ 6” 2007
Muhammad Ali – Stencil collage on canvas 42’ x 30’ 2007
HOPE Shepard Fairey created the iconic Barack Obama “HOPE” image in the 2008 presidential election. He commented that this image was different because most of his political pieces were done in a negative way, and this one was positive. He said that he chose the image because he felt is portrayed leadership and wisdom and he liked the angle of his face. He had the initial idea to divide his face with shadows and red, white, and blue.
HOPE cont. The Associated Press is alleging a copyright infringement for this image of Obama stating that it is protected under fair use provisions. A lot of things will be considered in this case especially since the original image is a news image which would lack the creative elements of photography. The AP is seeking payment for using the image without permission, but his attorneys say his work is protected under “Fair Use”. He filed a preemptive lawsuit stating as much.
Fairey’s Point of View
Current Lawsuit Cont. The photographer Mannie Garcia claims he is a free lance photographer so he has his own issues with the AP because he feels his work was taken without permission. The AP is stating he was under their employment when the photo was taken. Fairey attributed his work to this photo, and did not research it in order to realize that he would need to give Mannie Garcia credit. Fairey states that he does respect Garcia and feels that he does deserve credit. All of the legal proceedings surrounding this case are still under way.
Conclusion To say the least Shepard Fairey is an extraordinary well renowned street artist with dynamic style that is very effective in his mission to raise awareness. The wide array of his pieces evoke strong emotions visually, and are very interesting. It is apparent he is not willing to stray from his distinctive artistic style and expression.