Shepard Fairey
Frank Shepard Fairey (born February 15, 1970 in Charleston, South Carolina) is a contemporary artist/graphic designer/illustrator, who emerged from the skating scene.[1] He usually goes under his middle and last name, Shepard Fairey. He is most noted for being the artist who, while attending the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in 1989, created the "André the Giant Has a Posse" sticker campaign, which evolved into the "Obey Giant" campaign. The "Obey Giant" campaign has grown via an international network of collaborators replicating Fairey's original designs.[2] The campaign has become, in Fairey's words, an "experiment in phenomenology."[3] His "Obey" Campaign draws from the John Carpenter movie "They Live" which starred Rowdy Roddy Piper, taking a number of slogans, including the "Obey" slogan, as well as the "This is Your God" slogan.[1]
He graduated from RISD in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts in Illustration, and currently resides in Los Angeles, California. Using the slogan "The Medium is the Message" borrowed from Marshall McLuhan, Fairey has become one of the most well-known artists of the early 2000s.[citation needed]
In 2003 he founded the Studio Number One design agency.[4] The agency produced the cover work for the Black Eyed Peas's albums Elephunk and Monkey Business and the poster for the film Walk the Line.[4] Fairey has also designed the cover work for The Smashing Pumpkins album Zeitgeist. [5]
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. 2005 saw Fairey and DJ Shadow collaborating on a box set. It included t-shirts, stickers, prints, and a mix CD by Shadow. In 2005 he also 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 icons Mission of Burma, and has also produced 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.
Appearances in other media
- Recently featured in Overspray Magazine's Issue 06 on California Street Art
- The artwork for Flogging Molly's CD/DVD Whiskey on a Sunday (released July 25, 2006) was done by Shepard Fairey.
- 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 Shepard.
- Many obey giant stickers are seen in the Michael Bay film Transformers (film).[citation needed]
See also
- street pop (art movement)
- street art
References
- ^ Tania Zittoun, Transitions: Symbolic Resources in Development, IAP, 2006, p168. ISBN 1593112262
- ^ Ian Noble, Picture Perfect: Fusions of Illustration & Design, Rotovision, 2003, pp128-9. ISBN 2880467543
- ^ obeygiant.com
- ^ a b studionumber-one.com
- ^ obeygiant.com
External links
- Studio Number One website
- Official Obey Giant Website
- SWINDLE Magazine website
- The Giant dot Org - The definitive Obey Giant website for collectors
- Interview with Shepard - August 2007
- Art Market: Fairey vs. Banksy by Alan Bamberger
- Shepard Fairey's NYC Representing Gallery
- Shepard Fairey's Los Angeles Representing Gallery
- The Career Cookbook Shepard Fairey Profile
- This Is Your God Exhibition