Interview with the master !!!

The Imagery that Elected the first Black President !

Shep!

'Obey' Street Artist Churns Out 'Hope' for Obama
By Jenna Wortham September 21, 2008 | 1:33:00 PMCategories: Art, Celebrity, Design, DIY, Events, Politics


If you've been to any major U.S. city recently, you may have spotted a two-tone print of presidential candidate Barack Obama emblazoned with the word "Hope" on a bumper sticker, lamp post or building.

Shepard Fairey, the 38-year-old street artist known for a guerrilla art campaign that coupled the ominous slogan "Obey" with the face of pro wrestler Andre the Giant, is behind the Obama design that has become synonymous with the Democratic nominee.

"I'm thrilled that my image has become an unofficial image for the campaign," said Fairey (pictured) on the eve of his new solo exhibition in San Francisco. "It's awesome."

Although Fairey's name has been known in underground art circles for decades, and his work has been commissioned by everyone from hip-hop group The Black-Eyed Peas to Showtime and Pepsi, it is his ubiquitous image of the presidential hopeful that has catapulted him into mainstream consciousness.

Fairey, along with artists like billboard hacker Ron English and British graffiti artist Banksy, has helped elevate street art, changing public perception of such works. Instead of vandalism, street art increasingly is viewed as a radical art movement worth preserving.



"Street art is like the new punk rock -- it's entering the mainstream," said William Haugh, director of Juxtapoz magazine. "And Shepard is behind all that."

Marc Schiller, CEO of New York-based ElectricArtists and co-founder of the street art blog Wooster Collective, agrees. He says Fairey's DIY approach and masterful use of iconography contribute to his successes.

"For many, many years the mainstream art world looked at street art as vandalism," said Schiller. "Now it's influencing the brands and the galleries. It's a natural evolution."

Although Fairey rose to fame for illicitly papering cities around the world with his signature stencils, the Los Angeles-based graphic designer says he hopes his iconic Obama posters will inspire more than just an underground revolution: He wants to infect the masses with the spirit of change.

"You never know when the street art bubble is going to burst," said Fairey. "But hopefully these works have merit beyond just the hype of that scene."



Before going into production on his first Obama-inspired print, Fairey, a fan of the senator after seeing him speak in 2004, was careful to seek approval from the campaign. "I didn't want anything I did to be a liability or an unwanted endorsement," said Fairey. "We had the unofficial wink and nod to do an image."

Fairey looked to Alberto Korda's famed shot of revolutionary Che Guevara (pictured) to create his red-white-and-blue print of Obama with the slogan "Progress." When the first edition of posters went on sale in January, the limited run sold out in minutes.

Schiller said he wasn't surprised the Obama posters were a runaway success.

"Shepard captures an energy in his work that is extremely powerful and unexpected," said Schiller. "When you apply it to a political campaign, the results are like magic. There's nothing like it."

After the success of the "Progress" print, Fairey says he was contacted by the Obama campaign to create an officially sanctioned poster in the same style -- only this time with a campaign-approved photo and slogan. The new artwork featured the now-famous "Hope" slogan.

"They said 'progress' sounded too Marxist," laughed Fairey, who estimated the profits from his Obama-themed merchandise topped out around $400,000. He says he donated the entire amount to the campaign.

"I have not kept one dime from the Obama [posters]," Fairey said. "I'm at a surplus; I've given the max amount to the campaign. Now we're just buying billboards and postering."

Fairey's transition from rogue street artist to art professional hasn't diminished his radical edge. He recently added an arrest to his already sizable rap sheet, this time for papering Denver with Obama- and Obey-themed stickers and fliers during the Democratic National Convention.

There's a unmistakable note of glee in his voice when he describes "bombing" -- or shimmying up drain pipes and scaffolding to illegally paste posters -- in nearly 40 public spots around San Francisco.

"When you walk down the street and see something in a crazy spot, there's something powerful about that," said Fairey. "The street will always be an important part of getting art out there for me."

If the first two decades of Fairey's career were dedicated to counterculture and skirting the boundaries of the mainstream art world, he's now riding the wave of success from his Obama posters into the next phase of his art.

"The whole concept of 'Obey' was getting people to question their obedience," said Fairey. "Now I'm trying to react to what's going on around me in a way that is constructive."



Fairey's exhibition, The Duality of Humanity, which runs through Oct. 4 at White Walls Gallery in downtown San Francisco, still deals in the pop culture ironies Fairey became known for with his earlier work.

The concept of the show draws from Stanley Kubrick's Vietnam War drama Full Metal Jacket and revisits John Carpenter's creature feature They Live (referenced in the original "Andre the Giant Has a Posse" stickers).

But there's a distinct message of hope and guarded optimism.

Fairey attributes the shift in focus -- newfound idealism and positivity -- to his experience working on the presidential posters.

"Plus, the positive works always sells better than the negative work," he kids before adding: "But seriously, the negative approach didn't work in 2004. It's time to try something different."

Photos: Jon Snyder/Wired.com, Obey.com

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More from Adam

Responses: Your response to question #2 is scary. Basically you're saying that it's OK for the government to take more money from the upper-middle and middle class (me) even though they have no chance of improving life for the lower-middle and lower class. I'm not sure I agree with your assessment - I think a lot of lower-middle and lower class are "drinking the Kool-Aid" and believing that the government, through Obama, will make life better for them, and I believe that a large portion of them don't want to work for it. I'll give you that Rezko was a mistake. Wright and Ayers speak to Obama's character and were calculated, long term decisions. Obama knows this to be true or he wouldn't have thrown Wright under the bus like he did. Those two relationships speak to the fact that he is, at his core, against a constitutional, capitalistic America. Other than his abortion stance, that scares me most of all. He will slowly cause the deterioration of our economy. My company will see taxes over 50%. We will not be able to keep many lower-middle class employed. I hope Obama has a plan to support them. Race means nothing to me. I voted for Alan Keyes in the republican primary in 2000 because I thought America needed his social conservatism after the Clinton years. I'm sure there are educated liberals who like his big-government, socially liberal agenda, but look at the military vote and you will see that you are wrong about who is behind Obama. The military is almost always better than a 60-40 split for the republican. Given McCain's background, this year it is 70-30 total. African Americans in the military are 70-30 for Obama. You are right - the world wants it. Every terrorist nation in the world, if given a vote, would vote for Obama. His "no preconditions" stance legitimizes their regimes and makes a mockery of American might. It's embarrassing to me. Finally, to be honest, if Europe wants it then it is the wrong thing, period. I hope you don't leave the country, but I'd rather have that than a socialist with anti-American roots occupying the Whitehouse. I'm not leaving the country, but if Obama gets elected my ammunition purchases will start to take a larger portion of my income, that is until his economy forces me into unemployment. I can kill what I need to eat.

From the Director William Gibson

Obama represents something that hasn't happened in 16 years and people remember that feeling. Its not really George Bush, people are past that, Its really John McCain. He represents the old way and people want to move on. If there was a cool republican that delivered the message like the way Reagan did he would win because that is the way the country is built by and large. Those are the values, but most of all people want to be inspired by their political piers not bored by them. There really is no policy that attracts, its the ideology that we are all going to have to contribute to the success of the country and get involved with the decisions that are made in some way.

I think you have it on the last part where you answered your own question. The lower-middle class knows they wont see a better life because of Obama but the will have something to associate themselves with while they are out there trying to make it happen

Who cares. McCain voted for the confederate flag and against Martin Luther King Day, not to mention the Keating Five. I'm sure there are allot more skeletons in his closet. He is know for his recklessness in a plane, he has always flown by the seat of his pants and probably lives up to the legend everyday.

We all make mistakes its how he reacts to them that has people impressed. We have seen it all. Nothing can top what has already happened in the White House and in Washington so these issues are pale in comparison to the sex scandals that have happened over the past decade. If they had that on him. It would ruin his core anything else people don't have time for or the patience to hear.

His race makes all the difference to me and none at the same time. When this election began, I said to myself that he didn't have a chance in hell of winning with a name like that. Then I just told myself to believe and why not. Its what society is telling me not what I want. Why cant a black man be president period. The right black man, not just any black man. There are scary black men out there. Ive seen Barack up close. Alison shook his hand at a speech in NYC when you could get close. It wasn't a black or white thing. He just has it, and if it happens its because of allot of things bigger than the vote or Bush or McCain, call it collective consciousness. The world wants it, Africa wants it, Europe wants it. I started shooting this film two years ago because i felt that this was going to be an historic election cycle. This was before he even got into the race and I wasn't into politics that much, i just new something big was going to happen and it is. People want to be a part of THAT. Hopefully they go to the polls and realise that they have to invest in it by voting. If they don't vote even though they think that there vote wont count they will be sorry when he wins because they can never say with heart that they are apart of what happened. Does that make sense? John McCain cant deliver that felling that comes once every 40 or so years.

As far as the Kids and skin color. The color doesn't matter to the community that is behind this movement. If they decide that they like Obama and they say they are part black or mixed that's even more Obamaesque because they represent his genealogy more than darker "Black Person" Your kids are the new black America. They are what is going to be which represents the new American. Hip-Hop Generation, Youth Culture etc. The black community that the media has portrayed on TV is stuck in the past or is aware of the whats coming.Its the youth that has no skin color in mind when they think of a candidate that is the future. They don't think that way. That's the future of politics.

Plus, he reminds me of me in a nerdy kind of way. We are both the same age, mixed, had a crazy college life etc. He is just way smarter but we have similarities so I identify with him on a very personal level, but it didn't happen overnight. If McCain wins I'm leaving the country to do something else, That's how strongly i feel about him becoming President.

Questions from Adam Friedrick

Do me a favor and answer some questions for me as I really, truly, authentically have a difficult time understanding how anyone can vote for Obama unless your primary agenda item is abortion on demand, gay marriage or peace at all costs.

1. As a republican, I can tell you 7 things for which McCain stands that I like and 3 that I don't. With Romney, I was 9 & 1. I can't find anyone voting for Obama that can tell me why they are voting for him other than "change" and "he is not George Bush." What Obama policy is the attraction? Is it the promise of government taking control and making everything right?

2. Do you think that his tax policies will be good or bad for America? Do you believe they will really help the lower to lower-middle class? More importantly (because this goes to intent) do you believe he believes his tax policies will help the lower to lower-middle class or is he making promises that will only hurt the rich and make the poor feel better about themselves because the gap is less? Does his tax policy not even matter because of the emotional factor that Obama stirs in his supporters and heart is more important than head?

3. Do Obama's personal relationships (Rezko, Wright, Ayers) concern you? If not, what do you use to overlook them?

4. I've looked at the statistics and done the math - there will probably be more white people voting against Obama because he is black than black people voting for him because he is black. The fact that I make that statement is a sad commentary on both race relations in our country and how seriously America takes the privilege of voting.

Here's my question - I don't believe that a man with Obama's experience, background and questionable associations gets a sniff of the democratic nomination if he is white. How much of a factor does his race make in your assessment of him as a potential president? I have a very close black, republican friend at work and we've discussed this question in depth. The reason I ask the question is simple - my kids. Would they get the support of the African-American community that Obama is getting since their skin color is closer to mine than Heather's? If the answer to that question is "no" then I have a serious problem.

I hope none of this is offensive as the only reason I ask is to help quell some of the anger and frustration I have as I watch an unashamedly biased media investigate and beat the crap out of Palin and Joe the plummer while no one even questions where Obama got his drugs in college.

Im back and blogging again about the election

Its been a year since the last post and allot has happened with the candidates. Its a perfect time to pick up where we left off and get feedback that we never attempted to get in the beginning. We were ahead of the curve and now allot of what we were predicting has come into favor.
The candidate has been endorsed by hip-hop and we will follow the progress leading into the election. Stay tuned. I will be reaching out fro, LA.