Shepard Fairey collaborated with Studio Number One’s Cleon Peterson and Casey Ryder to produce this print for Artists for Peace and Justice. If you are looking to get your hands on a new piece of art and also do your conscience some good, this is a win win. I have been in the throes of starting my business, continuing some ongoing project work and preparing for an upcoming show. I have been trying to make time to lend my hand to some relief effort for Haiti. I hope to do something very soon. It’s been great to see a lot of the creative community getting in line to lend support. If you have any suggestions as to something we could do together, drop us an email through the contact section.
Supertouch has a little response to the infamous article questioning the validity of the work of now unquestionably famous artist Shepard Fairey (Obey Giant). The original article, written by artist Mark Vallen makes accusations of plagiarism and states several examples. Supertouch claims the appropriation of other imagery has been an artform/movement in and of itself for a long time now.
Read up at Supertouch and see how you feel about the issue. With the internet making so much imagery so readily available now this is not something that is going to go away anytime soon and will most definitely continue to be a hot topic within our profession. I myself appropriate imagery into a lot of my work.
So leave a comment and spark up some debate. Let me and the other readers out there know what you think about this. I think it really gets some people ruffled and I also think there may be a generational divide shaping up here because I definitely see a lot of younger designers and artists appropriating imagery more and more.
Ahh, I spoke with Scot LeFavor about this little incident last week at the Manifest Hope wrap party and it was almost funnier in person. He went out last week with the notorious Shepard Fairey and was arrested for wheat pasting posters up around Denver. Scot, Fairey and his crew were apparently mistaken for a group of crazy anarchists. It scared the shit out of Scot at first but, I said, ‘C’mon man, you were arrested with Shepard Fairey, how awesome is that?’ That’s every designer/artist’s dream come true.
* Alright, I have to revise this a little. If you are not a fan of Shepard Fairey or into what he has done, you probably wouldn’t find being arrested with him a dream come true. Apologies there.
Scot is rocking one of my t-shirts in the video by the way. Thanks Scot.
Comments Off on Shepard Fairey Going Blind?Pop Culture
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.
Comments Off on Shepard Fairey for Penguin BooksProducts
Penguin Books has recently commissioned Shepard Fairey of Obey Giant fame to design new covers for two of their most famous titles, Animal Farm and Orwell’s 1984. They are both obvious choices for Fairey’s style and work perfectly with his message. I think if it gets kids to read it is a great thing. I was required to read both of these titles when I was in highschool and junior high. 1984 had a big impact on me and is and will remain a relevant work for a long time to come. Hopefully the visual cue and recognition of what is obviously Fairey’s design will prompt kids to at least want to own the books and eventually read them.
It would be nice to see more of this kind of thing as I think it would be a positive trend in utilizing recognizable artists and designers to create materials that help promote thought and encourage learning and awareness. There has always seemed to be a divide between what I refer to as the old guard and the young blood. I think it would be mutually beneficial to both if the best of each was represented in certain situations as to help inspire and activate today’s youth culture. It’s so hard to stay relevant with today’s youth that more of this really needs to start happening right away.
Comments Off on Shepard Fairey Endorses ObamaPolitics
Shepard Fairey has thrown his hat in the ring to endorse Presidential Candidate Barack Obama. He will be selling a poster this Wednesday, January 30th with proceeds going towards posters for a large statewide campaign promoting Obama and his message. If you would like to help with the campaign, email info@obeygiant.com with OBAMA as the subject line to receive further instructions on what you can do to help. Lets hope it helps add more momentum to Obama’s campaign because I too believe he is a candidate who shows real promise and a push towards a positive change for our bruised and battered country. It is time for a real change in this country and I think people can feel it.
