Shepard Fairey’s practice disrupts the difference between fine and commercial art. Through the distribution of posters, stickers, and murals, related to his Obey Giant campaign, which yielded an international cultural phenomenon. Summarizes a number of frequent concerns in the artist’s work, including propaganda, portraiture, and political power. Fairey said “I want to encourage positive attributes of humanity; compassion, scrutiny of abuse of authority, peacefulness”. …show more content…
Fairey’s art has the ability to pull in everyone from any style.
Fairey doesn’t focus on a specific group as he uses his work for a wide range of people. This is done as he puts his work anywhere not only museums and galleries, but walls, signs and buildings. He believes not everyone cares about museums and galleries that it might be overwhelming for them and uses that to his advantage and goes out into the streets and public places. Fairey’s work site is not specific as he puts it anywhere he can, but his works still is put up in galleries. Fairey focuses on his work by making the audience question everything.
Fairey is heavily influenced by skateboarding, punk music and the style of the 1980s artists Winston Smith, Barbara Kruger, Raymond Pettibon, and Robbie Conal and other street artists. As his works progresses he perceives the message of resistance and purposeful opposition to corporations, politicians and authority figures. Fairey stepped up his production, creating inflammatory, politically charged posters that criticized the status quo and corporate
culture.
Faireys work consists of stickers, posters, paintings, murals, collages and installations, which he uses to express his ideas and thoughts. His work sits in the subjective and cultural frame as he focuses on political issues and his feelings and ideas about issues which create his style, using real life issues and problems to create his work. He shows issues in the world as he uses the “anti-bush” the former President of the United States, George Bush, hugging a bomb and additional another portraying George Bush as the devil.
His first work was “Andre The Giant Has A Posse” and stuck them everywhere he could to gain popularity, status and recognition.