Shepard Fairey is one vector artist who has proven that images can change the world. He is most famous for The Hope poster he created for the Obama Campaign. That image, crystallized the feelings of a generation.
His Obey brand is also a very recognizable signature that has secured it’s own place in vector art culture.
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Shepard Fairey: Supply and Demand
Now a household name for his iconic take on the presidential visage, Shepard Fairey is uniquely suited for a career retrospective. And not just because of his Obama-fueled stardom. This year marks the 20th since the street artist/graphic designer/general renaissance man began printing his infamous “Andre the Giant has a Posse” stickers while a student at the Rhode Island School of Design. To mark the milestone, Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art is presenting “Shepard Fairey: Supply and Demand,” Fairey’s first ever museum survey, which traces his oeuvre from 1989 through works he completed just weeks ago. The location is no accident either. Fairey admits a close connection to the town, as it was the first “real city” where he came to display his omnipresent street works.
Unlike many retrospectives, “Supply and Demand” is not organized chronologically. Since he regularly revisits certain concepts throughout the years, his work is separated into seven different thematic sections. The “Propaganda” portion, for instance, focuses on Fairey’s “Obey” theme, and includes plenty of works with Andre the Giant’s goofy mug. The “Music” section includes images of his biggest musical inspirations. In that room, portraits of Joe Strummer and Sid Vicious hang next to Tupac and Chuck D. But if there’s one underlying theme in the show, it’s exemplified by the last category, “Question Everything,” which subverts everything from Middle Eastern imagery to American currency. Running from this Friday through 16 August, the show is exclusively sponsored Levi’s, which couldn’t be more appropriate: the famed jeans company has championed Fairey since 2002, when they sponsored one of his group shows in Los Angeles.
We were lucky enough to get a preview of the exhibition, given by none other than the artist himself, who was dressed more GQ than DIY. He discussed myriad subjects, from the concept of street art to his creative process and post-Obama expectations. But since he explains it better than we can, we offer a particularly rough Rough Cut Video. Enjoy.
Shepard Fairey: Supply and Demand
6 February-16 August 2009
Institute of Contemporary Art Boston
100 Northern Avenue
Boston, MA 02210 map
+1 617 478 3100
Source: Coolhunting
Obama 'Hope' poster artist arrested in Boston
By Milton J. Valencia and Mark Shanahan
Shepard Fairey, the controversial street artist riding a roller coaster of publicity with his red, white, and blue posters of President Barack Obama, was arrested last night on his way to DJ an event kicking off his exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art.
Fairey, a 38-year-old known for his countercultural style, was arrested on two outstanding warrants and was being held at a police station, according to a police official with knowledge of the arrest who requested anonymity.
Police could not describe the nature of the outstanding warrants last night, but said they were based in Massachusetts.
Fairey has been arrested at least 14 times, he has told the Globe.
The artist was arrested at about 9:15 p.m. as he was about to enter a sold-out dance event at the Institute of Contemporary Art on Northern Avenue, known as “Experiment Night.” The event is geared toward a younger-age crowd, with techno-style music, and more than 750 people were waiting for him, some of whom had bought tickets for the event on Craigslist for as much as $500.
Fairey was supposed to appear as a guest DJ for the kickoff of his exhibit, Supply and Demand, which will run through Aug. 16. He was scheduled to go on stage at about 10:30 p.m., and an hour later organizers reported to the crowd that he was arrested.
“We’re very disappointed,” said Paul Bessire, deputy director of the Institute of Contemporary Art.
“Shepard Fairey is a wonderful artist who created some positive work and we were very pleased to present his work here and around the city. We feel he is an influential artist.”
[Read more…] about Obama 'Hope' poster artist arrested in Boston
Shepard Fairey accused of Copyright Infringement
New York–
On buttons, posters and Web sites, the image was everywhere during last year’s presidential campaign: A pensive Barack Obama looking upward, as if to the future, splashed in a Warholesque red, white and blue and underlined with the caption HOPE.
Designed by Shepard Fairey, a Los-Angeles based street artist, the image has led to sales of hundreds of thousands of posters and stickers, has become so much in demand that copies signed by Fairey have been purchased for thousands of dollars on eBay.
The image, Fairey has acknowledged, is based on an Associated Press photograph, taken in April 2006 by Manny Garcia at the National Press Club in Washington.
The AP says it owns the copyright, and wants credit and compensation. Fairey disagrees.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
BARACK OBAMA VECTORS – FREE SAMPLES
VECTOR OBAMA INAUGURATION POSTER
SHEPARD FAIREY – OBAMAS POSTERBOY
OBAMA POSTER – FROM OBEY
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Vector Obama Inauguration Poster
Obama’s Presidential Inaugural Committee unveiled street artist Shepard Fairey’s design commissioned for the official inaugural poster. While Obama’s top volunteers across the country anxiously await their assigned tickets for the swearing-in ceremony, we expect Fairey will be receiving prime seats. Fairey, who came to fame with his Andre the Giant “Obey” posters, papered across the nation, created one of the most iconic symbols of Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign with his lighter “Hope” image.
Publicity guru Yosi Sergant is credited with linking Fairey to the Obama effort. After Fairey printed an initial round of posters and posted the image on his website, it soon went viral. Posters and then limited edition prints soon skyrocketed in price, as collectors were eager to get their hands on the campaign memorabilia. A mixed media collage of the image was snatched up by the Smithsonian, making it the first official image of the president to be inducted into the National Portrait Gallery.
Posters are selling for $100 and 1,000 prints, signed and numbered by the artist, go for $500. All proceeds will be put toward much needed Inaugural funding, as the planned events could cost the city up to $50 million with nearly three million people expected to descend on Washington 20 January 2009.
If you won’t be around for the festivities, you can pick up your print at the Inaugural website.
Also worth adding to your collection is “Supply & Demand,”, a retrospective spanning 17 years of Fairey’s career. It’s available from Amazon or Powell’s.
by Ariston Anderson
via: Coolhunting
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Time Magazine's person of the year is….
Here’s a no-brainer: Time magazine named US President-elect Barack Obama the Person of the Year after he became the first African-American to win the White House. But the real contest was to make the shortlist.
The runners up were US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and Chinese director Zhang Yimou, the man behind the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony.
“It’s unlikely that you were surprised to see Obama’s face on the cover,” Time said. “He has come to dominate the public sphere so completely that it beggars belief to recall that half the people in America had never heard of him two years ago.”
“In one of the craziest elections in American history, he overcame a lack of experience, a funny name, two candidates who are political institutions and the racial divide to become the 44th president of the United States.”
The cover style was also no real surprise. Shepard fairey’s iconic poster will certainly have it’s own place in history as one of the most memorable. It seems as though vector art has played a role in changing the face of history forever.
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