Shepard Fairey is an American graphic artist and social activist who is part of the Street Art movement along with other artists including Banksy and Mr.Brainwash. Fairey blurs the boundary between traditional and commercial art through type and image, communicating his brand of social critique via prints, murals, stickers, and posters in public spaces. “Art is not always meant to be decorative or soothing, in fact, it can create uncomfortable conversations and stimulate uncomfortable emotions,” he stated. Born on February 15, 1970 in Charleston, South Carolina, Fairey graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1992 where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in illustration.
In 1989 Fairey created the André the Giant Has a Posse sticker campaign, featuring a stylized image of the wrestler André the Giant. This project was the foundation for his seminal Obey series, which helped to push Fairey into the public spotlight. The artist is perhaps best known for his Hope (2008) campaign, which portrays a portrait of then-presidential candidate Barack Obama, in red, white, and blue. In 2017, the artist created a series of three posters— featuring portraits of culturally diverse women, again using a red, white, and blue color scheme—in response to the xenophobic rhetoric of President-elect Donald Trump. Fairey currently lives and works in Los Angeles, CA. His works are included in the collections of the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
In 2019 Maggie visited Shepard's Studio Number One in Los Angeles and they talked about his earliest influences, musically and artistically and why it's important for artists to "Get Up, Stand Up"
Source: http://www.artnet.com/artists/shepard-fairey/
Source: https://obeygiant.com
This episode is from an archive from the KPFK program Rock Profiles adapted for podcast.
Host Maggie LePique, a radio veteran since the 1980's at NPR in Kansas City Mo. She began her radio career in Los Angeles in the early 1990's and has worked for Pacifica station KPFK Radio in Los Angeles since 1994.
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