Conversation with Shepard Fairey at Brooklyn MuseumBy STAN PARCHIN
March 25, 2010
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| Shepard Fairey. Photograph provided by Flickr. |
Shepard Fairey (b. 1970), graphic designer, illustrator and one of the most influential contemporary street artists of our time, discusses his career and work with Associate Curator of Exhibitions Sharon Matt Atkins at the Brooklyn Museum on Sunday, April 25, 2010 at 3:00 P.M. A book signing of
Obey: Supply and Demand (2006) and
Obey: E Pluribus Venom (2008) follows the talk.
Fairey is responsible for Obey Giant, his worldwide graphics campaign that changed how people see art and the urban landscape. He gained celebrity in the early 1990s with the iconic images and logos of his widely circulated street posters and stickers. His work, like that of Andy Warhol (1928-1987) and Keith Haring (1958-1990), intentionally blurs the distinctions between fine and commercial art. Fairey became internationally known for his Barack Obama HOPE poster during the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign.
May Day, a solo exhibition of Fairey's recent works at Manhattan's Deitch Projects (May 1-31, 2010), explores the various meanings of the show's title: a celebration of Spring, International Worker's Day (Labor Day) and a distress signal used in times of emergency.