In the past year, a red, white and blue image of President Barack Obama has become nearly synonymous with the word "hope" and an iconic symbol of his campaign. Now, its creator is getting a chance to share the rest of his work with the world. Shepard Fairey's first museum exhibition, "Supply and Demand," opens today at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston (ICA).
This exhibition is unique because of its multifaceted nature. Over 250 of Fairey's works are on display in the ICA's West Gallery, and even more grace the streets of Boston, including a mural here at the Mayer Campus Center. Pedro Alonzo, a world-famous freelance curator, is one of the masterminds behind this city-wide show.
Fairey is renowned as a street artist and is most famous in the urban world for his "Obey Giant" images that cover walls in cities nationwide. He has been spreading his legacy for over 20 years, beginning in his dorm room at the Rhode Island School of Design with his "Andre the Giant Has a Posse" stickers.
Alonzo organized the ICA galleries in an unusual way. Instead of arranging Fairey's works chronologically, as many exhibits do, they were classified by seven themes, one in each room. This way, instead of seeing how Fairey's art progressed over time, visitors can recognize the true breadth and depth of his subjects and see them contextually instead of sequentially.
Fairey's works engage the viewer on emotional and political levels. He uses repetition of images to drive his themes home, and uses icons from pop culture to make his art relatable and accessible. His portraits are thought-provoking and controversial, portraying figures such as Mao Zedong ("Obey Mao," 2002) and Joseph Stalin ("Giant Stalin," 1997). He also depicts musical legends like Bob Marley ("Obey Marley," 2004) and Jim Morrison ("Jim Morrison 4-Album," 2004), reaching out to a different audience.
In his artwork Fairey tries to emulate the punk ideals of the Clash and the Sex Pistols, two rock groups that made social change some of their top priorities. He includes portraits of both of their lead singers in the gallery. Portraits of 23 other renowned artists in the music business are also included in the exhibit, including Johnny Cash ("Obey Ring of Fire," 2005) and David Bowie ("David Bowie Stencil," 2007).
Clad in a Clash T-shirt and a hoodie with one of his own Obey logos, Fairey spoke about his own motives during a press preview on Tuesday. "For me, it was never just about being a rebel," he said. "[There is an] idea that we're all trying to communicate and trying to be constructive." Fairey idolizes people like Chris Rock and Stephen Colbert, men who can poke fun at authority and still resonate as respectable figures, however irreverent they may be.
Fairey communicates an incredible sense of humility and modesty. He often cites Andy Warhol as one of his greatest inspirations, but when asked about the similarities between their works, he struggled for an answer and blushed at the thought: "That sounded like I'm comparing myself to Warhol," he said.
Warhol quotations are obvious in many of Fairey's works. For example, the "Obey Soup Can" (2005) hails directly from Warhol's portfolio, as does "Marilyn Warhol" (2000). In the seventh and final gallery, a print grid is hung on the back wall with ninety 24 x 18 prints, all accented in red. Such an arrangement of his prints effortlessly echoes Warhol's "Campbell's Soup Cans" (1962).
Fairey discussed his transition from the streets to the gallery and the different connotations that come with such a dramatic change. "On the street, you don't need to interpret things through art history," he said.
Bringing his art inside a building has placed it in an entirely different context, but it is a change that he welcomes. "People try to steal things off the street," he said with a laugh. "I applaud that kind of motivation."
Inside the gallery, his work is safe from theft and other vandals, where it can be viewed with the respect and adoration it deserves. "What you see [in Shepard's work] first and foremost is that he is an artist," Nicholas Baume, chief curator of the ICA, said.
"The world needs more innovative ways of looking at things, [such as] the art historical legacy that Shepard created and extends," Colette Randall, communications manager of the museum, said. Fairey has rightfully earned the admiration of the ICA staff, and they are clearly thrilled to be the first to officially share his work with the world.
Fairey selflessly shared his image of Obama with the American people: He does not have a copyright on the image and he did not even seek to officially represent the Obama campaign. "I've been arrested 14 times for vandalism," he said. "I didn't want to be seen as a liability to the campaign."
But in retrospect, Fairey was most definitely not seen as a liability. He distributed his image in the form of 300,000 posters and 500,000 stickers, thereby affirming his status as an artist who deserved the credit he received from President Obama and also the American people. A large stencil collage of "HOPE" (2008) hangs alone on the last wall before the final gallery at the ICA, an imposing symbol of the change about to occur in this country and an icon representing 20 years of Fairey's work. This image represents the social awareness and change that Fairey has been seeking all these years.
