The Artist
Shepard Fairey
Originally a skateboarder, Shepard Fairy came into the art world from the streets. As a contemporary graphic designer, illustrator, street artists and activist, his stickers, stencils, screen prints, illustrations, collages and works in wood and metal provide an authentic, inspiring and provocative voice. His aim with his art is to encourage the audience to question themselves, their environment and their assumptions – he wants to provoke a reaction. He first came to prominence with a sticker campaign, ‘Andre the Giant Has a Posse’, with images sourced from the tabloid publication, Weekly World News. He uses images from popular culture to hold up a mirror to the way his audience thinks, feels and consumes. Along with his partners Dave Kinsey and Philip DeWolff, he is a founder member of the BLK/MRKT Inc design studio, that supplies guerrilla marketing for organisations as diverse as Pepsi, Mozilla and Hasbro. He’s had exhibitions at several notable galleries, including: The National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. One of his most renowned works is a poster he produced for Barak Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign with the word ‘Hope’ emblazoned on it.
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