As the legend goes while at RISD, Shepard Fairey was teaching a friend how to make a stencil for a bombing session. He was using a picture of André the Giant and thought that it looked way too good to be a one-time stencil. So, he ran with it adding the words “OBEY” and started stenciling it all over the east coast.
It took several years but Fairey’s first big break was the film “André Has A Posse”. After its debut on the silver screen his career quickly snowballed into a more legitimate and profitable business. Making silkscreen duotone cd covers and company ads.
Fairey had his first art show called “E Pluribus Venom” in the year 2007, with a lot of positive feedback. Most recently he has been in the news quite a bit since he was called out for using a photo that he did not have the rights to for his Obama “Hope” propaganda.
The guy who did this is sad... He used a photo reference and didn't give the photographer credit. So sad. Great campaign though.
ReplyDeleteI love his work. He really knows how to simplify his subjects. I love how he uses public figures in his work. It makes it a bit more interesting with his style. It puts his subjects under a new light and which is fascinating.
ReplyDeleteApparently he thought that he did not steal the photo because he believed that the same rights that allow DJ's to use other peoples material as long as the DJ changes the original content so that it becomes something new.
ReplyDeletepeople use photo references all the time and don't give credit. i still love Shepard Fairey because he started off as an underground street artist, people that have come a long way you have to give credit to... look where he is now doing ad campaigns for Obama, and running a successful clothing company.
ReplyDelete