SHEPARD FAIREY

Shepard Fairey is a world-renowned American muralist and graphic artist. Combining street- art activism, an entrepreneurial spirit and an interest in skateboard culture, Fairey began designing and selling hand-decorated boards and T-shirts in 1984. Before long he had graduated from the Idyllwild Arts Academy in Palm Springs, California, and then later earned a B.F.A. from the Rhode Island School of Design. Experimenting with street-art media, Fairey launched a sticker campaign with a portrait of professional wrestler André The Giant, which he captioned "Andre the Giant Has a Posse." This gained national attention and helped the artist sell more than one million copies of another sticker with a refined version of the single word "OBEY", which would later become Fairey's clothing company. In 2008, Fairey found both mainstream success and counterculture notoriety with the red-and-blue “Hope” poster of presidential candidate Barack Obama. It was instantly adopted by the Obama campaign and widely imitated. The “Hope” poster was just one example of Fairey’s frequent use of art to advance his beliefs. In 2012, Fairey’s art touched an audience once again after he created a portrait for Ebony magazine of slain African American teenager Trayvon Martin.

OFFICIAL LINKS

Official Website: ObeyGiant.com
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