Shepard+Fairey



"In college I had been producing some work based on the concepts of abuse of authority, racism, and first amendment rights. Though these works were cathartic, I realized the actual result was limited to me achieving greater status in the liberal club I was already a member of. I saw the political angle for Obey Giant as “the medium is the message”. When something is illegally placed in the public right-of-way the very act itself makes it political. My hope was that in questioning what Obey Giant was about, the viewer would then begin to question all the images they were confronted with. I was very hesitant to make any literal political statements with my images because I felt the mystery of the project elicited a variety of honest reactions that were a reflection of the viewers' personality in the same spirit as a Rorschach test. I also did and do not feel I have all the answers... though I do have opinions. I want people to question everything. " ~Shepard Fairey

"I became active as a street artist because I felt public space was the only option for free speech and expression without bureaucracy. The internet was not developed at the time I started and though it does level the playing field for some things, it still filters out those who do not own a computer. I also did not really consider what I was doing art and considered the art galleries too elitist anyway. I also found the whole idea that you could be arrested for stickering or postering as something I wanted to rebel against. In my opinion the taxpayers are the bosses of the govt. I'm a taxpayer... why can't I use public space for my imagery when corporations can use it for theirs" ~Shepard Fairey

[|Shepard Fairey Scoopit page]

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