Today Shepard Fairey is known as the brightest representative of pop art, a creative artist, and he burst into the world of art with bright and "talking" paintings and immediately caused a lot of controversy around him, which still do not subside. The artist works under the pseudonym Obey, which means “obey”, “obey”, and all his work as if asks to listen to the world and peer into the surrounding realities. But skeptical critics are trying to catch the artist in deception. Who is he: a master of plagiarism or an art revolutionary?

Biography

Shepard Fairey was born in Charleston (USA) in the family of an ordinary doctor. But already from childhood he showed the abilities of an unusual child. He was into punk rock and DIY art (which means "do it yourself"). He took his first creative steps by painting clothes and skateboards of friends, already "armed" with a well-known pseudonym.

At 22, Shepard has a fine arts class in Rhode Island School of Design and several creative directions. and music became the first rung of the artist's career ladder. After some time, Shepard's work is exhibited in Boston and immediately makes an impression. The designer is associated with three pop and public art.

In 2003, Fairey opened his own design agency. Today his works are included in the collections of several museums, art institutes in the USA and Great Britain.

The artist was arrested several times for painting graffiti in public places and putting up advertising posters.

Creation

As an artist, Shepard Fairey has always been distinguished by his ability to react brightly and in an original way to what is happening in the world. His paintings are a reflection of ideological, religious, political and environmental issues. The artist became world famous in 2008 with a poster for the election campaign of Barack Obama. The creation received the symbolic name Hope (or "Hope"), which greatly influenced the course of the elections.

Shepard Fairey immediately developed a unique creative style. His paintings are recognizable, reminiscent of Soviet posters in their color palette and style of execution. According to the artist himself, creativity and

Commercial design

For some time after graduating from design school, Fairey worked in a typography and produced stickers, decals, posters and advertising T-shirts. Later he switched to "guerrilla" marketing and realized himself in major projects like Adidas and Pepsi. It is Fairey who owns the logo of the Mozilla Foundation, the creator of the Firefox browser. Also significant is the designer's collaboration with the Black Eyed Peas and Smashing Pumkins, with whom he designed

According to Fairey himself, the choice of products for advertising is carried out by him primarily from a moral standpoint, and not commercial.

Graffiti

Least of all for colleagues and art connoisseurs, Shepard Fairey showed himself in street art. However, his work in this direction also attracts attention. Graffiti artists say Fairey is adept at exploiting popular social themes, but that doesn't make him a master of street art. Obey's graffiti work is more of a "guerrilla" marketing or advertisement, which is, of course, a far cry from street art. Simply put, they are not related to the street, the interaction of space and people. Despite this assessment, Shepard Fairey often arranges exhibitions in galleries in Europe and the United States and always receives a warm welcome and attention to his work.

Criticism

On the creative path of Shepard, Fairey has always been restless and exciting. There are skeptical critics who seek and seem to find evidence of plagiarism of the artist's work. Among them are art historian Lincoln Cushing and artist Josh McPhee. Their doubts are caused by the style and forms that Shepard Fairey uses. His paintings, like photocopies, have neither clear lines nor strokes. And the images used by the artist are hackneyed and familiar to everyone.

Any representative of art, one way or another, falls under the influence of predecessors. He adopts, rethinks, transforms and forms his own unique style. According to critics, Shepard only copies other people's work with minor changes and stylization and passes it off as his own. So, the scandal around Shepard's work dedicated to the wrestling star is often remembered.After the WWE threatened the artist with a lawsuit, accusing him of using a registered mark, Fairey changed the wrestler's portrait and slogan to Obey. It is noteworthy that one of the versions of Andre the Giant is similar in composition to the Soviet poster by Dmitry Moor "Signed up as a volunteer?"

Fairy's most famous work, Hope, was also the cause of the litigation. Then the Associated Press accused the artist of using a 2006 photograph of Obama, commissioned by this agency.

P.S.

Shepard Fairey's work brings the designer profit and fame, charges and arrests. But the Rhode Island School of Design can still be proud of its graduate. Indeed, despite all the suspicions and claims from the authorities and critics, Fairey was and remains a versatile, lively and fashionable artist. His works, if not turned the world upside down, influenced the "public discourse".

On the opening day, more than 10 works were sold in just one hour: even budget-conscious visitors wanted to buy something in memory of Shepard - at least a catalog for € 19 with a detailed biography of the artist and photographs of his work.

According to eyewitnesses, excitement reigned at the exhibition, the gallery owner did not hide a triumphant smile, and the number of visitors exceeded reasonable limits and caused an inevitable crush near the works.

The exposition director Luisa Montalto spoke about why the first exhibition of this kind was held in Rome.

Who owned the works presented at the exhibition?

All exhibits are the property of an Italian collector who wished to remain anonymous. He holds a senior position in a large company. The curators of the exhibition are Dario Morgante and Cristiano Armati, the owners of the gallery. The idea of ​​such an exhibition was in the air, because Fairey is truly one of the most influential artists of the millennium.

Was the artist himself directly involved in organizing the exhibition?

Yes, at the initial stage, but then he decided not to interfere - even though Fairey is grateful to us for the work done and contribution to the development of the secondary market of art objects, and despite the fact that this is his first exhibition in Italy, he prefers participate in more institutional processes - for example, large museum exhibitions.

How many people have already visited the exhibition and how many works have been sold?

The opening was attended by about 1000 people. We are a fairly small gallery - we have never had such a large-scale opening before. In the first week, the exhibition was attended by about 3000 people, and this is an absolutely crazy figure for us. Not only people living in Rome are interested in the exposition, people come to us from Milan, Bologna and other small towns. Curators and collectors, mainly French and Americans, are showing interest.

Was there anything unusual at the opening of the exhibition?

The security guard at the entrance did not let people with drinks inside. As a result, we counted 140 bottles of wine on the street.

What's happening in Italian street art now? Do you have many indoor street art exhibitions?

Italy has a very fertile ground for the development of street art. There are at least three galleries in Milan that specialize in street art, in Rome only we, Mondo Bizzarro Gallery. We work with such pioneers of the movement as Sten and Lex, Lucamaleonte, Mr Uany, Ozmo, Eron and others. In May we open a group exhibition of artists (Mr Uany, Jb Rock and Eron), next year we want to do a large exposition “Italian street art "with the participation of more than 30 artists.

“I've always loved Aubey's work, but for me he's more of a graphic designer than a street artist,” says

Fairy's most famous projects are the "Hope" poster, invented in 2008 during the US presidential election, Barack Obama, and the portrait of French wrestler Andre Rusimov, made in 1986. In February 2008, Fairey received a reply from Obama with a letter of appreciation for the work done.

But the idea of ​​a sticker with a wrestler came up by accident: “In 1989, I was explaining to a friend how to make a stencil, and accidentally came across a photo with a wrestler. I told him that he should make a stencil out of this, to which a friend laughed and said that it was completely stupid. I found this idea funny. At that time, my friends and I called each other The Posse (crowd, hangout, a word borrowed from the hip-hop slang Public Enemy, NWA and Ice-T). So I made a couple of these stickers with the original version of GIANT HAS A POSSE. "

“I would like to express my gratitude for your talent and support for my election campaign. The political posters used in your work have instilled faith in the American people. I am grateful for the privilege of being a part of your art work. " Barack Obama

Later, OBEY appeared on the sticker: Fairey was inspired by John Carpenter's film They Live, where the protagonist finds sunglasses that allow you to see a hidden message on advertising posters - for example, the slogan "Buy a ticket to the Caribbean" contains the slogan "Obey", " Consume ”,“ Marry and multiply ”.

In addition to the sensational posters, Fairey designs covers for music records (Black Eyed Peas, The Smashing Pumpkins, DJ Shadow, Flogging Molly, Led Zeppelin, Will.I.Am, Anthrax, Interpol, Johnny Cash), films, as well as design of logos, T-shirts , stickers. Shepard is known for his "visual statements" against the Bush regime (Be the Revolution series), as well as artwork for the music album "War: Music That Inspired the Iraq War Veteran" and other social and political art.

Shepard Fairey is a truly versatile, lively, talented and trendy street artist. He has repeatedly exhibited in American and European galleries, his work is included in the collection of a number of museums and art institutes in the United States and Great Britain. Fairey was one of the managing partners of the guerrilla marketing design studio BLK / MRKT, with clients including Pepsi, Hasbro and Netscape. In 2003, together with his wife, he opened a design agency. In 2009, he was arrested on his way to the premiere of his show at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston for pasted posters.

We answered the most popular questions - check, maybe they answered yours too?

• We are a cultural institution and we want to broadcast on the Kultura.RF portal. Where can we go?
• How to propose an event in the "Afisha" portal?
• Found an error in the publication on the portal. How to tell the editorial staff?

Subscribed to push notifications, but the offer appears every day

We use cookies on the portal to remember your visits. If the cookies are deleted, the subscription offer will pop up again. Open your browser settings and make sure that the "Delete cookies" item is not marked "Delete every time you exit the browser".

I want to be the first to learn about new materials and projects of the portal "Culture.RF"

If you have an idea for broadcasting, but there is no technical opportunity to conduct it, we suggest filling out an electronic application form within the framework of the national project "Culture":. If the event is scheduled for the period from September 1 to November 30, 2019, the application can be submitted from June 28 to July 28, 2019 (inclusive). The selection of events that will receive support is carried out by an expert commission of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.

Our museum (institution) is not on the portal. How do I add it?

You can add an institution to the portal using the "Unified Information Space in the Sphere of Culture" system:. Join her and add your places and activities according to. After checking by the moderator, information about the institution will appear on the Kultura.RF portal.

- (English Frank Shepard Fairey, born February 15, 1970) - contemporary American street art artist and designer. Also known under the pseudonym Obey, which is a reference to one of its most famous tags.

Biography, creativity

Shepard Fairey was born in Charleston (South Carolina, USA). His father worked as a doctor and his mother as a realtor. In 1988 he graduated from the California Academy of Arts (Idyllwild Arts Academy), and in 1992 from the Rhode Island School of Design with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

In 1989, he created the stencil "Andre the Giant Has a Posse", which later evolved into a street art company called "Obey Giant". This work is based on the image of Andre Rene Rusimov, a French wrestler and actor better known by the nickname Andre the Giant... In a 2008 interview, he recalled: “Andre the Giant's sticker was just a spontaneous, happy accident. I taught a friend how to make stencils in the summer of 1989 and looked through newspaper photos that could be used and there was just an ad with Andre the Giant, and I told him that he should make a stencil from it. He said, "No, I won't make a stencil from this, it's stupid!" But I thought it would be funny, so I made a stencil. "

By the early 1990s, Fairey had created tens of thousands of different Giant stickers that he posted around the world. In 1995, Helen Stickler's film of the same name "Andre The Giant Has a Posse" was released, which was dedicated to Shepard Fairey and his street art company. The film was presented at the Sundance Festival in 1997, and in the 2000s it began to be perceived as something cult not only in the world of street art, but also for various representatives of the counterculture in general.

In 1994, Fairey reshaped the poster and created an image called "Obey" in response to threats from Titan Sports, Inc. for copyright infringement. This work featured the face of a giant with the signature Obey at the bottom. It did not contain any political slogans, and was, on the one hand, a kind of hint of anti-authoritarian content, a parody of totalitarian propaganda, which was defined by art critic Robert L. Pinkus as "ironic conceptual art", on the other hand, it was a reference to the cult 1988 film "Aliens among us "(sometimes:" They live among us ", eng." They Live ") John Carpenter.

Over the next few years, Fairey, in addition to the stencil and countless Giant stickers, also created a number of oversized graffiti and posters that were placed in a variety of locations around the world. Currently, this image has gone beyond street art and began to be used in the design of clothes, interiors, etc., and also received its continuation in modern pop art.

In 2003, together with his wife Amanda Fairey, he opened the design agency Studio Number One, which worked on the artwork for The Black Eyed Peas' Monkey Business album, the posters for the film Walk The Line, the album Zeitgeist, Smashing Pumpkins, Showtime's Dexter poster, and more. Since that time, Fairey has been working a lot in the genre of poster painting and his work has become more and more commercially successful. He starts custom work, creating posters for various companies, groups, etc. emphasizing, however, that he works only with those brands that do not cause him moral rejection.

In 2004, he takes part in the anti-war campaign "Be the Revolution" against the Bush administration. Fairey creates a range of political and social posters with a range of figures from various fields of art.

In 2008, Shepard Fairey created his perhaps most famous work - "Hope", which was dedicated to Barack Obama and was widely used both during the election campaign and after it. Later, this work was continued in the form of "Occupy HOPE" and "We are the Hope" - posters that were created in 2011 as part of the "Occupy" movement.

It should also be noted that Fairey has twice designed the covers for Time magazine (Person of the Year). In 2008 (Barack Obama) and in 2011 ("The Protester").

In 2017, Shepard Fairey created three posters against the magration policies of US President Donald Trump. The series received the unofficial name "We are people" (variant: "We are the people", eng. We the people), because this phrase is found in all three works. The posters depict girls from three of Trump's most criticized ethnic groups (Muslim, Hispanic, and African American). Fairy posters have been used in several protest rallies in the United States, as well as in the design of T-shirts and other items.

American artist and designer Shepard Fairey is a prominent figure in pop art, standing in the same row as Andy Warhol, but not only. Also, his name is inscribed in political history - as the creator of the most famous political poster of our time "HOPE" for Barack Obama. The publishers of ART + Auction magazine named him an influential artist of the year 2009. ( Login to clean the page.)

OBEY

Fairey is best known for two pop-art pieces that play on popular media imagery. The first, created in 1986 and known in two versions, was a portrait of the French wrestler André "The Giant" Russimoff. Beneath the wrestler was the phrase "GIANT HAS A POSSE" ("The Giant has a crowd").

In the second version, the phrase was reduced to the word "OBEY" ("Obey"), associated with the movie "They Live Among Us" (They Live) and became the artist's pseudonym. The image became a classic and was distributed in the form of stickers and posters.

Hope

The most famous painting by Fairy is the work "" (Hope), which is dedicated to US President Barack Obama. Fairey performed it in 2008, during Obama's election campaign. The author hesitated for some time between several variants of the signature, but in the end settled on "Nadezhda". The poster not only glorified its creator, but also influenced the mood of voters. Nadezhda's motives were used in the creation of political posters and after the elections.

Other jobs

In addition to these two paintings, Fairey owns a number of art posters dedicated to socialism, religion, music and ecology.