Shepard Fairey
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Frank Shepard Fairey (born February 15, 1970 in Charleston, South Carolina) is a contemporary artist, graphic designer and illustrator who emerged from the skateboarding scene[1] and became known initially for his "André the Giant Has a Posse" sticker campaign. The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston calls him one of today's best known and most influential street artists.[2] He usually uses just his middle and last name.
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[edit] Life and work
Fairey created the "André the Giant Has a Posse" sticker campaign in 1989, while attending the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD).[3] This later evolved into the "Obey Giant" campaign, which has grown via an international network of collaborators replicating Fairey's original designs.[4] In a manifesto he wrote in 1990, and since posted on his website, he links his work with Heidegger's concept of phenomenology.[5] His "Obey" Campaign draws from the John Carpenter movie "They Live" which starred pro wrestler Roddy Piper, taking a number of its slogans, including the "Obey" slogan, as well as the "This is Your God" slogan. [6]. Fairey has also spun off the OBEY clothing line from the original sticker campaign.[7] He also uses the slogan "The Medium is the Message" borrowed from Marshall McLuhan.
Fairey graduated from RISD in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts in illustration. After graduation, he founded a small printing business in Providence, RI called Alternate Graphics, specializing in tshirt and sticker silkscreens, which afforded Fairey the ability to continue pursuing his own artwork. While residing in Providence in 1994, Fairey met American filmmaker Helen Stickler, who had also attended Rhode Island School of Design and graduated with a film degree. The following spring, Stickler completed a short documentary film about Shepard and his work, titled "Andre the Giant has a Posse." The film premiered in the 1995 New York Underground Film Festival, and went on to play at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival. It has been seen in more than 70 festivals and museums internationally.
Fairey was a founding partner along with Dave Kinsey and Phillip DeWolff of the design studio BLK/MRKT Inc. from 1997-2003 which specialised in guerilla marketing, and "the development of high-impact marketing campaigns."[8] Clients included Pepsi, Hasbro and Netscape.[8]
In 2003 he founded the Studio Number One design agency.[9] The agency produced the cover work for the Black Eyed Peas's album Monkey Business and the poster for the film Walk the Line.[9] Fairey has also designed the covers for The Smashing Pumpkins' album Zeitgeist, [10] Flogging Molly's CD/DVD Whiskey on a Sunday, and the Led Zeppelin compilation Mothership.
In 2004, Fairey joined artists Robbie Conal and Mear One to create a series of "anti-war, anti-Bush" posters for a street art campaign called "Be the Revolution" for the art collective Post Gen. In 2005 Fairey collaborated with DJ Shadow on a box set, with t-shirts, stickers, prints, and a mix CD by Shadow. In 2005 also, he was a resident artist at the Contemporary Museum, Honolulu. In 2006, Fairey contributed eight vinyl etchings to a limited-edition series of 12" singles by alternative rock band Mission of Burma, and has also done work for Interpol.
In 2004, Shepard Fairey co-founded Swindle Magazine with Roger Gastman.
His book, "Supply and Demand: The Art of Shepard Fairey," was released in July 2006.
In June 2007, Fairey opened his one man show entitled "E Pluribus Venom," at the Jonathan LeVine Gallery. The overtly political nature of Fairey's work in the show led to a bomb scare in which the thousands of gallery-goers had to be evacuated from the space. This monumental show made the arts section front page in the The New York Times.[11]
In addition to his successful graphic design career Shepard Fairey also DJ's at many clubs under the name DJ Diabetic and Emcee Insulin, as he has diabetes.[12]
According to Eric Lyle, Fairey has cynically turned graffiti culture into a self-promoting ad campaign, turning street art into a cheap hustle that is no different from corporate advertising.[13] On the other hand, San Diego Union-Tribune art critic Robert L. Pincus says Fairey's, "is political art with a strong sense of visual style and emotional authenticity. Even in times when political art has ebbed, Fairey's has just the right balance of seriousness, irony and wit to fit the mood of the moment."[14]
Fairey currently resides in Los Angeles, California, with his wife Amanda and daughters Vivienne and Madeline. Fairey created a series of posters supporting Barack Obama's candidacy for President in 2008.[15] He sits on the advisory board of Reaching to Embrace the Arts, a not-for-profit organization that provides art supplies to disadvantaged schools and students.[16]
[edit] Appearances in other media
- Fairey was featured in Overspray Magazine's Issue 06 on California Street Art.
- Shepard was on G4TechTv's "Icons" TV show
- The insert to the Dropping Food on Their Heads Is Not Enough: Benefit for RAWA (2002) features artwork which was donated by Shepard Fairey for the fundraiser compilation.
- The loading screen for Guitar Hero II was done by Fairey.
- Some of his art is featured in levels in the Tony Hawk's Underground series, notably the Berlin level in THUG 2.
- The game menu of Tony Hawk's American Wasteland also features some of Fairey's art.
- He is interviewed, and his work discussed in the 2008 documentary film Beautiful Losers.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Tania Zittoun, Transitions: Symbolic Resources in Development, IAP, 2006, p168. ISBN 1593112262
- ^ Upcoming Exhibitions, SHEPARD FAIREY, The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston.
- ^ Steven Heller, Véronique Vienne, Citizen Designer: Perspectives on Design Responsibility, Allworth Communications Inc., 2003, p223. ISBN 1581152655
- ^ Ian Noble, Picture Perfect: Fusions of Illustration & Design, Rotovision, 2003, pp128-9. ISBN 2880467543
- ^ Steven Heller, Véronique Vienne, Citizen Designer: Perspectives on Design Responsibility, Allworth Communications Inc., 2003, p224. ISBN 1581152655
- ^ Youtube video
- ^ "They Must Obey", STYLE SCOUT, LA Times, December 9 2007.
- ^ a b Steven Heller, Véronique Vienne, Citizen Designer: Perspectives on Design Responsibility, Allworth Communications Inc., 2003, p225. ISBN 1581152655
- ^ a b studionumber-one.com
- ^ obeygiant.com
- ^ The New York Times
- ^ Shepard Fairey interview 21-06-07
- ^ Eric Lyle in Josh MacPhee, Erik Reuland, Realizing the Impossible: Art Against Authority, AK Press, 2007, p87. ISBN 1904859321
- ^ Social ferment not always reflected in fermentation of artworks
- ^ Shepard Fairey: Obey Obama. The designer's endorsement as a striking poster series.
- ^ Reaching to Embrace the Arts
[edit] External links
- Official Obey Giant Website
- Shepard Fairey's Los Angeles Representing Gallery
- Shepard Fairey's NYC representing gallery, Jonathan LeVine Gallery
- Studio Number One website
- SWINDLE Magazine website
- The Giant dot Org - The definitive Obey Giant website for collectors
- Exclusive Filmed Interview with Shepard Fairey (Obey)
- Interview with Shepard - August 2007
- Art Market: Fairey vs. Banksy by Alan Bamberger
- The Career Cookbook Shepard Fairey Profile
- This Is Your God Exhibition
- Shepard Fairey videoed at PSFK Conference Los Angeles - Sept 18 2007
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