With all this talk about Banksy a
couple weeks ago, I thought I would do a critique on his work. But then I thought, hey there are other big
name artist too so let’s just do someone else.
Like the Shepard Fairey for instance.
Frank Shepard Fairey, or Shepard Fairy as he goes by, is very famous
street artist turned designer activist. Many
people are familiar with his work and have more than likely seen it in some form
or another. Shepard fair became famous
for his work titled “Andre the Giant Has a Posse” which became his trademark
OBEY illustration. This was a very
famous piece, sticker etc. where those interested his artwork would display it
around the city. The main difference
though with him and many other artist is that he is formally trained at the
Rhode Island School of Design. Fairey
has created many other well-known pieces that many people have enjoyed as
well. Few other famous pieces that
Fairey has created are “Make Art Not War” as well as the “Hope” featuring
Barack Obama. The work he mainly creates
get distributed not only by Fairey, but also by others who enjoy his work as
well as trusted individuals around the world.
Andre the Giant Has a Posse
OBEY
Make Art Not War
Hope
Fairey presents a counter-culture
mentality not through wordy messages but with attention grabbing imagery. A lot of his art has to do with
counter-politics and anti-war statements.
For example, the Make Art not War piece is specifically direct toward
Bush and Fairey’s anti-war sentiments he wanted to portray though his
work. However, he chose not to portray
President Bush in a negative manner, but portray his message of peace. He does this same in an interview about his
Hope piece in an interview.
“I wanted to
make an image that deracialized Obama, where he’s not a black man, but a nationalized man. And then, secondly, when a person
is turned into a stylized or idealized icon, it means that someone has decided
that the person is worthy of this treatment”
http://www.interviewmagazine.com/art/shepard-fairey/#_
(Full Article)
Shepard Fairey falls into the realm
of Symbolic Anthropology as well as somewhat also in Post Modernism. Given his general style, he display a lot of
imagery that is up for personal interpretation.
He does this by creating these pieces and distributing them himself or
via the general public. Though he
displays many of his works in museums, he makes his works public as well to
help augment the counter-culture by giving it a method of spreading a shared
vision or belief. He has even done this worldwide
assigned certain delegates to ensure that this artistic counter-culture activity
can be enjoyed by all, not just Americans.
Though it has nothing to do with many rites of passages some Anthropologist
write about, some of the concepts can still apply in hos works. The symbols Fairey presents still portrays
many aspects that exist in the modern society but also expresses the current
state of our society. Not only that, but
even the symbols he chooses to portray show what is important and pressing at
the time a piece is created. The Hope
example greatly exemplifies this phenomena.
The word Hope is even emphasized for some reason, and that reasoning however,
is up to the viewer to interpret. Personally,
I thought of the word Hope in this piece served as a reminder of what’s to come
during the presidential election of 2008.
Promoting a good feeling that would help all endure and prosper.
The
Shepard Fairey also falls into the realm of Post Modernism because of some of
the facts that it brings up. The works
of the Shepard Fairey fits mainly into the third tenet of Post Modernism. Culture is a text or a performance. Shepard Fairey exemplifies this not only by
demonstrating the symbolism, but also brings the performance aspect of his art
to life. Not only does he himself promote
a widely interpretive style of art, but also brings others in to this practice
as well. He sells many of these works of
art that many place in their homes, school, and even on the side of buildings occasionally. Doing this helps give everyone their own experience
with his art thus shattering any one direct interpretation, despite the knowing
background knowledge of his art. Those
who view a piece like Make Art Not War, may express similar viewpoints, however
but there is no one direct answer in a sense.
For more of his works (I like his
recent work in Malaga, Spain, it was very creative) you can visit his site
here: http://www.obeygiant.com/
Immediately after reading this post about Shepard Fairey’s OBEY illustration, I looked up from my computer on the upper level of Starbucks and saw an OBEY sticker stuck to the window. I figured this had to be a sign from Andre the Giant himself that I should write a blog response elaborating on Ricardo’s postmodernist argument on the image! On his website, Fairey states in his manifesto that “Because OBEY has no actual meaning, the various reactions and interpretations of those who view it reflect their personality and the nature of their sensibilities.” This ties into the postmodernist argument that there is no such thing as objective knowledge. The goal of the artist was to play with the idea that each person has a different interpretation of the image based on their age, where they come from, what they associate the image with, etc. He does not seek to define his image or tell someone what it means. Rather he uses it as a vehicle for individual cultural interpretation, further proving a postmodernist view that there is no single or correct interpretation of culture.
ReplyDeleteThe OBEY campaign embodies some other traits of postmodernism. It is a widely recognized image around the world showing its global influence instead of something local or confined. Also, it emphasizes experience over education. The goal is not to tell a person what to think or how to interpret it, rather to allow a viewer to have an individual interpretation and genuine reaction to what they think Andre the Giant’s face means. Fairey is breaking boundaries and using art as a means of igniting discussion and allowing individualism in interpretation. His intentional lack of explanation embodies a postmodernist view that knowledge cannot be objective, but is instead biased and conditioned.
Nice posts, Ricardo and Erika! I enjoyed learning more about Fairey's work.
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