Video: Shepard Fairey – “Obey This Film”

Shot and directed by Brett Novak and commissioned by The Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art  in South Carolina on the ocassion of "The Insistent Image: Recurrent Motifs in the Art of Shepard Fairey and Jasper Johns."

In the twelve minute video Shepard discusses his influences and inspirations which are pretty much spot on with anyone involved in this type of graphic art. Skateboarding, punk rock, pop culture, re-appropriation, graffiti etc…

Shepard most certainly bears his influences for all to see but sometimes I get kinda bummed out that it’s all so deeply rooted in the 80’s and 90’s. There are plenty of groundbreaking things going on nowadays, maybe we should all let the proven but very, very, very tired and overused imagery of  Black Flag, The Clash, Public Enemy, Johnny  Cash and more be set to rest already and begin championing the next generation of audio visual inspirations.  I love the work, I have since the 90’s and will continue to,  but there is nothing more depressing to me than the “guy” who still listens to and loves all the same things he did as when he was in highschool making claims that art and music aren't as good now as they were back in the day.

Video: “Obey the Giant – The Story of Shepard Fairey”

You may recall a post we did a year ago about a Kickstarter campaign that made me do a double take.“Obey the Giant,” a 25-minute, lightly fictionalized film by RISD student Julian Marshall on the origin story of Shepard Fairey and his Obey campaign. Giving it some authenticity the project had the street art great's official seal of approval as well.

You can now view the film in its entirety below, and my opinion on it is still that of “this is so strange.” I will say it is well shot and at 20 minutes won’t take much effort or commitment so grab some popcorn and click play.

Shepard Fairey – “Ebony Magazine – Trayvon Martin”

Shepard created this artwork a few months ago for a commission by Ebony Magazine. Although he was  not able to show the artwork until the issue hit newsstands this week. “I have followed Trayvon’s case closely and I think any compassionate human being can relate to Trayvon as a brother or son and would want to see a thorough investigation into the killing of an unarmed person. In my portrait I wanted to emphasize Trayvon’s humanity as well as the public outcry for a just investigation into his death.

-Shepard”

Video: Shepard Fairey – “Harmony & Discord” At Pace Prints

Shepard Fairey is getting ready for his next show opening in New York on May 5th.  Held at Pace Prints, the new body of work entitled "Harmony & Discord" will mark the first time the artist is using both handmade paper, and metal relief plates. The show will also see the artist’s largest screen prints to date and some new embossing techniques which  take advantage of the superior printmaking facilities and equipment at Pace. While I don’t necessarily love this body of work, the techniques being shared with us in the video below are always both fascinating and educational to watch.

Video:First Look at “Obey The Giant”(A Narrative Drama about Shepard Fairey)

Here's a Kickstarter campaign that made me do a double take. “Obey the Giant,” is a 25-minute, lightly fictionalized film by RISD student Julian Marshall that acts as an origin story for the artist known worldwide for his Obey campaign. The project has the street art great's official seal of approval as well, Shepard gave Julian the rights to make a dramatic film on the beginnings of the whole OBEY GIANT phenomenon.  The film is at a state where Kickstarter is being used to generate the remaining funds needed to complete the film.  To learn more about the project and contribute to its funding, click HERE which includes some rewards for donations from a DVD edition of the film to signed Shepard Fairey works (donated by the artist himself) and pieces of the set, including the fake Cianci billboard. Watch the video below to get preview of the project.

Shepard Fairey, Ron English, Kenny Scharf and Robbie Conal to Guest Star on The Simpsons

On March 4, Shepard Fairey, Ron English, Kenny Scharf and Robbie Conal will guest star on the 23rd Season of the iconic television series, The Simpsons in an episode titled, “Exit Though The Kwik-E-Mart.” In order to get back at his dad, Bart goes undercover as a graffiti street artist and plasters Homer’s unflattering image all over Springfield. But one night, Bart and Milhouse get caught in the act by the established street artists and to Bart’s surprise, they invite him to exhibit his satirical artwork in his very own gallery show.

“Part of being on ‘The Simpsons,’ is you’re being honored as a reference point in culture,” Fairey says. “But you also can’t be too sensitive about that part of culture being made fun of…There’s irony that comes with something outsider becoming insider. And they do a great job of examining that.”-Shepard

It's kind of weird, Shepard is easily the most recognizable of the above artists in mainstream culture but his character doesn't look as spot on as the others in my opinion.

Shepard Fairey - Time Magazine Cover "Person of The Year"

Time's Person of the Year issue is upon us and the honor goes to "The Protestor" Cover by Shepard Fairey. Other finalists this year included Kate Middleton, Paul Ryan, Admiral William McRaven, Ai Weiwei and Gabby Giffords, who were all featured in the issue as well.

Shepard Fairey - "Occupy Hope" Print

Looks like Shepard Fairey has re-appropriated his famous Obama Hope desing from the 2008 presidential campaign for the Occupy Wall Street movement, Shepard shared his thoughts on the piece below….

"This image represents my support for the Occupy movement, a grassroots movement spawned to stand up against corruption, imbalance of power, and failure of our democracy to represent and help average Americans. On the other hand, as flawed as the system is, I see Obama as a potential ally of the Occupy movement if the energy of the movement is perceived as constructive, not destructive. I still see Obama as the closest thing to “a man on the inside” that we have presently. Obviously, just voting is not enough. We need to use all of our tools to help us achieve our goals and ideals. However, I think idealism and realism need to exist hand in hand. Change is not about one election, one rally, one leader, it is about a constant dedication to progress and a constant push in the right direction. Let’s be the people doing the right thing as outsiders and simultaneously push the insiders to do the right thing for the people. I’m still trying to work out copyright issues I may face with this image, but feel free to share it and stay tuned…"
-Shepard Fairey

Video: The Rise - Interview with Shepard Fairey

In this new video Shepard talks about the influence graffiti, skateboarding and punk rock had on his life and the ways it shaped his art career. Key moments such as a school trip to NY and the melding of styles by brands such as Shut Skateboards allowed him to develop his techniques.

THE RISE from OBEY CLOTHING on Vimeo.

Shepard Fairey vs. Copenhagen

Shepard Fairey & Romeo Trinidad (post attack). Photo by Jon Furlong.

While in Copenhagen for his new show at V1 Gallery Shepard Fairey and Romeo Trinidad of OBEY Clothing were involved in a fight with some locals, Fairey ending up with a black eye and broken rib. The controversy stemmed from the placement of the mural next to 69 Youth House and subsequent misunderstanding leading to the attack as well as the mural being bombed. The mural was then repaired quite nicely, looking even better than the original in my opinion, with the help of some of the artists from the Youth House collective called RaxArt, then fire extinguisher bombed again.

All Mural photos by Rasmus Osterhammel

Video: Shepard Fairey talks about the film that inspired his Obey campaign. "They Live"

What we got here is a short video of Shepard Fairey discussing the influence of John Carpenter's "They Live" on his work both esthetically and intellectually. You can purchase the print (18″ x 24″ screenprint, edition of 450, $50) today July 7th 2011 at a random time at ObeyGiant.com.

Let them eat cake!

Via Shep.