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Bidding has just closed on Shepard Fairey’s 1 of 3 mixed media stencil collage on cotton rag paper of OBAMA HOPE, 2008. The winning bid is $108,000.00. I guess this goes to show that both Shepard Fairey and Barack Obama continue to gain popularity!

[Los Angeles- July 14, 2008] Shepard Fairey, the contemporary artist whose irreverent works have deconstructed the meaning and methods of propaganda, ironically became the creator of one of the most potent political images in recent history - the OBAMA “HOPE” poster. The image found such immediate resonance with Obama supporters that it became ubiquitous throughout the primary campaign and across the web.

Now, at the request of Russell Simmons, Shepard has donated one of three fine art versions of the poster to the charity auction, Art For Life, an annual event which benefits Simmons’ Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation.

This piece is approximately 4 foot x 6 foot in size and is a mixed media stencil collage on cotton rag paper. This “HOPE” may be the only fine art piece of this image available to the public, and is one of only three in existence.

The Art For Life auction ends Tuesday, July 16 at noon. Then the online budding is closed and the highest bidders are invited to bid by phone during the live auction on July 19. Entering the online auction is the only way to enter the live auction. The online auction can be found here.

via Yosi at emgpr.com

‘It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.’

Two great minds collide:

No stranger to political iconography, Shepard Fairey has endorsed presidential candidate Barack Obama with a new screen print and some guerrilla political activism! Proceeds from the print sale are funding a statewide poster campaign to increase awareness about the Illinois Senator, just in time for the ‘Super Tuesday’ elections next week. Needless to say, my hat is off to Shepard for getting up and making noise for his beliefs (as he has done throughout his entire career). If you’re not already planning to vote in the primaries in your specific state, it might be too late. Look into it! I regrettably live in a state with closed primaries, and am not affiliated with the democratic party (LIBERTARIANS BITCH!). But if you’re not outraged about what others are doing to your world, and in your name, then you’re simply not paying attention. Get involved!

“The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.” - Albert Einstein

I stumbled upon this interview this morning and was not only disturbed by Matt Gleason’s (editor of Coagula Art Journal) opinion of Shepard Fairey, but found him to be a total asshole. AFter a little recon it seems like many folks have the same opinion. Funny, cuz just yesterday I was involved in some fairly deep discussion about keeping blog based content (particularly ours) positive and avoiding the online dis at all costs. Well, fuck it. Art critics must just really love to hear themselves talk. Jackass, keep your ethereal definitions of art to yourself. The sad thing is I couldn’t help but listen as my ears continued burning. It amazes that people can make careers and be fulfilled by talking shit about artists and their work. Somebody needs to sort out his own issues.If you’ve got the time, listen to the entire interview and form your own opinion.

R and I just got back from NYC. We headed out there to check out all of Shep Fairey’s new work, both in DUMBO, Brooklyn, NY and at Jonathan Levine Gallery in Chelsea and do some sneaker recon. The trip was rad. We’ve got tons of wicked good pics. Here’s a few from the DUMBO Installation/party. I can’t say enough good things about Shepard’s work. His content is brilliant, as far as graphic design goes - he’s one of the best and his execution is fucking stellar. When you take all that into consideration with Mr. Fairey’s roots and committment to getting his art up in the street… you just can’t beat a Shepard Fairey art show/party. We, particularly I, were just totally blown away. So, here goes… Oh, JR actually forgot the camera for the DUMBO show so I was shootin pics on the infamous Manuel Bello’s camera. Turns out Manny kept all the really hot pics for himself and the story he was doin’ on Shep’s new work for fecalface.com. Whatever Manny, no hard feelings, but come on bro…

Here it is. Shepard Fairey’s show at Jonathan Levine Gallery, “E Pluribus Venom.” I’m biased, I consider Mr. Fairey to be one of the best artists to ever walk our planet. Subsequently, we went a bit photo crazy. Between this show and Fairey’s work at the DUMBO installation we were totally blown away. Art doesn’t get much better than this. To learn more about Shephard Fairey, his OBEY campaign, the history of his art and the man himself visit obeygiant.com.

NOTE: We’re not bothering to name all the pieces. They’re not hard to find if you’re interested. We actually have real jobs, too. All the pieces were pre-sold, so don’t get your hopes up.

That’s right. We got it. There’s a line out the door. OBEY.