05.05.08
I read a piece of news today at Animal New York that really concerned me. There really is no concrete truth behind the allegation but some news has leaked that Frank Shepard Fairey of Obey Giant fame may be losing his sight. Fairey has diabetes and has been spinning records under the name DJ Diabetic for some time now. Animal New York makes the claim that a source close to Fairey has stated that he could be legally blind by the end of the year.
The article goes on to quote the anonymous source as saying, “That’s why he’s having so many gallery shows and making so many prints. The Faireys are trying to pump out as much artwork as they can before he can’t see anymore – time is running out.”
There is already speculation that this news could raise the price of Fairey’s work. It seems to me that this news is somewhat unfounded and to be speculating about something like that is at the expense of Fairey and his family. I know a lot of negativity has spread about this particular artist and his practices, but he still has arguably more fans than detractors. It saddens me to see people speculating the price of his work going up because of something so sad happening to him.
From people I have spoken to in the past who have met Fairey, I have heard he is a very nice person. He has a wife and family, and I am sure if any of this news is actually true, it must be very hard on his family. It’s easy to forget that when someone has created such visible work that there is actually a real human being propping it up. If any of this is true, my heart goes out to him and his family and I sincerely hope he manages to stay well and fend this off.
News discovered at Animal New York.
written by Christopher | tags: Obey Giant, Shepard Fairey, Shepard Fairey Going Blind
