Once upon a time kids made stencils and decorated urban environments by street light, always looking over their shoulders to not get caught by 'the man.' ((I talked about this art in the Melbourne Graffiti post earlier.)) Some seek to make bold statements, others to change the world and some just to place their name in the limelight. While many think of Banksy as the king of the stencil phenomenon, there's a new man in town.
Today, I visited Boston's ICA (Institute of Contemporary Art) to see an 'Obama' exhibit that a friend from out of town wanted to see. I didn't know anything about it but was intrigued since I knew I could get in free as a BU Student (kinda, still have the ID card) and had never been to the museum on the water before.
(If you don't go to the museum to check out an exhibit or aren't into contemporary art at all, at LEAST go for the breathtaking views of Boston, the Harbor Islands, and Revere.)
When we got to the museum, there was a giant poster of a black and white image of a man's face at the top of the building. I looked at it and wondered if it had always been there and also recognized the image without knowing why.
Upon entering and asking where to find 'Obama art' we found out that we were there for the Shepard Fairey: Supply and Demand exhibit (there until August 16th). READ THE BROCHURE HERE.
It was incredible. I was immersed within his exhibit, that walks you through his art's timeline, within seconds. Each image had so much character and detail, yet presented a simple image.
A native of South Carolina and then student at Rhode Island School of Design, Fairey created his art campaign 20 years ago with the creation of his OBEY Stickers that he gained ample buzz for in Providence. Now, OBEY's motto is "Manufacturing Quality Dissent since 1989."
His work, which has been said to be unable to categorize, models after such artists like Andy Warhol and Keith Haring. He uses lots of black, white and red to present political/propaganda like images to the general public.
His work began with political-esque images of the WWF wrestler 'Andre the Giant.'
Eventually, the image turned to a zoomed in face with less features. The OBEY campaign continued to promote this 'face' of the message while reiterating the fact that the face belonged to a 7'4", 520 lb. man. POWER.
This is the face that is now seen on the outside of the ICA and across many forms of Fairey's work:
His art began with OBEY posters that played off the fact that Americans are so convinced to pay attention to advertisements. His goal was to present an image and have people question its meaning. In Fairey's Manifesto, he says the sticker campaign is an experiment in phenomenology - the attempt to see clearly something that is right in front of you but taken for granted. "The sticker has no meaning but exists only to cause people to react, to contemplate and search for meaning in the sticker. 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."
Fairey's creative career has centered around Andre the Giant, OBEY and the visual theme seen above. At the exhibit, you see images that seem to promote peace and question the government's actions (again, the phenomenology). Here are some pieces on display:
The giant stickers insist on not carrying a deeper meaning. Rebellious individuals like to be in on the art and conservatives are often troubled by their meaning. The stickers, then, are a social experiment to see just how people's psyche's react to the images. Their sole purpose, as art, is to make people reflect on his or her surroundings, or at least take notice.
The finale of the show, besides the GIANT mural canvas produced especially for the ICA (on which the power and value of money is greatly called into question), is the OBAMA poster. Now, when you hear Obama poster, does one image come to mind? Of course it does.
Stephan Fairey, un-commissioned, created this poster:
This piece of art, more serene than the one of George Bush that reads "Did a HELL of a Job" with devil eyes and werewolf teeth, quickly became the artistic expression of the grassroots Obama campaign. The exhibit has a table full of tangible Fairey pieces, like his spray-painted sneakers. On this table is a framed letter from Obama expressing his gratitude for the widespread image that links him with "HOPE." So cool.
So, basically, this young-underground artist is now HUGE because of his OBAMA poster. I, personally think it's amazing because more people have their eyes peeled to see his stuff lke this awesome peace symbol.
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