Shepard Fairey, the Los Angeles-based street artist behind the red, white, and blue Obama campaign image that swept the globe-is the subject of an exciting new video by Gestalten. Tv.
Fairey gained international recognition in the early 1990s with his Obey Giant campaign, seen on streets around the world on countless stickers and posters that Fairey produced and disseminated. Since then, Fairey has created works of art of all types-on the street, as part of commercial collaborations, and, increasingly, for gallery presentation. Fairey has broken many of the spoken and unspoken rules of contemporary art and culture. Working as a "fine" artist, commercial artist, graphic designer and businessman, Fairey actively resists categorization. Through the Obey project, he has created a cultural phenomenon, but more importantly, a new model of art making and production. He builds off precedents set by artists such as Andy Warhol and Keith Haring, as he disrupts expectations about art and business, and muddies the distinctions between fine art and commercial art.
Published in:
Shepard Fairey: Oferta y Demanda | José Juan Barba. METALOCUS-024 | A.09 | p. 78
Since the mid 1980s he has created outstanding (then: street) art that is strong, iconic and expressive. Shepard Fairey is also a thoughtful, committed, and outspoken activist who revives the artistic virtues of standing up for the freedom of speech and fighting for rational and non-corporate ways of dealing with the issue of copyright. Obey the interview with him in Los Angeles in late 2010!
