Shepard Fairey

Shepard Fairey Does Street Art on L.A. Buses, Doesn't Get Arrested

What happens when you do your art on Metro transit property? If you're a "lesser" artist you're targeted by authorities, fined and even sometimes jailed, which is what happened to Revok in 2011 when his probation was, yes, essentially revoked. If you're Shepard Fairey, prolific seller of Obey brand ... More >>

Stencil Artist Logan Hicks Returns to L.A. With a Three-Day Show at LACE

Shepard Fairey Street Art Mural Defaced on La Brea -- and This Goes on Globally

Everyone is a critic. Even taggers. Shepard Fairey, a widely known street artist who often garners mixed reviews, has been panned with graffiti spray-painted over a fifty-foot wall piece on 2nd Street and La Brea Boulevard. At the scene, a property manager was noticeably disturbed by the tagging ov ... More >>

Shepard Fairey Gets Probation in Obama 'Hope' Poster Case

Shepard Fairey was right. But then he was wrong. The L.A.-based king of street artists was sentenced in New York to two years of probation after he tried to conceal the fact that he used an Associated Press photo as the basis of his iconic "Hope" rendering of President Obama. The thing is, he wa ... More >>

L.A. Mural Ordinance Postponed Into Oblivion

Last October, when L.A. City Hall started drafting an ordinance that would lift the city's oppressive mural moratorium, we tried to be patient. Even though it had taken the City Council over a decade to get the ball rolling, we said, hey -- better late than never. We set aside our skepticism. We gav ... More >>

Rollins Announces "Capitalism" Tour, Will Hit Each State Capital

[Look for your weekly fix from the one and only Henry Rollins right here on West Coast Sound every Thursday.] Henry Rollins doesn't keep his political opinions quiet; in a column last fall about the Occupy protesters he recounted how senator Rand Paul "made a fool of himself trying to compare them ... More >>

Trayvon Martin Gets the Shepard Fairey Treatment in Ebony Magazine

It was only a matter of time before L.A. street artist (turned international graphic-design star and Obama portraiteer) Shepard Fairey took on Trayvon. We're actually surprised it didn't happen sooner. Though there remains the sporadic rally cry for the young black Florida teen's murderer to be bro ... More >>

Shepard Fairey Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy After He Manufactured Evidence in 'Hope' Civil Court Battle With Associated Press

Hope this is legal.​Shepard Fairey dug a dumb hole for himself when he tried to cover up and change evidence in his civil court battle with Associated Press over the image he used for his iconic "Hope" poster. That dispute appeared to us to end in a draw, but because the L.A. street artist d ... More >>

Shepard Fairey Guests on 'The Simpsons' For Episode on Bart's Graffiti-Art Obsession

Fox / obeygiant.comShepard Fairey and Bart Simpson.​Forget Law & Order. It's The Simpsons that's ripped from the headlines. The show will ride the Art in the Streets zeitgeist that has hipsters popping into galleries and cops popping graffiti creators. The March 4 episode mocks the Banksy doc ... More >>

Shepard Fairey, Saber to Discuss L.A. City Mural Ordinance at Public Panel Discussion

An unprecedented meeting of street artists and political artists will happen tonight in downtown L.A. Expected to attend: Shepard Fairey and Saber. Los Angeles, of course, is a graffiti art hot spot and a onetime mural capital of the world. But a city law against public murals made putting one up i ... More >>

Occupy, the Art Show: Ted Soqui, Our Photographer Who Did Time Cover With Shepard Fairey, Gets an Exhibit

Ted Soqui​See our previous post, "Occupy L.A. Photos by Ted Soqui, Photog Behind Shepard Fairey's TIME Art, to Show at Gallery Where Cover Protester Sarah Mason Works" Six weeks after LAPD riot cops cut short the revolution and forcibly cleared Occupy L.A. from its home on the City Hall lawn, ... More >>

S[edition]: Would You Pay $800 for a Digital Image?

Shepard FaireyPeace Guard by Shepard Fairey, available at the new digital art company s[edition]​When you can have a Shepard Fairey image on your computer for the cost of a right click, is a company like s[edition] barking up the wrong tree, or ahead of its time? The new enterprise aims to m ... More >>

Shepard Fairey Based TIME's 'Person of the Year' Cover on Occupy L.A. Image by Ted Soqui, LA Weekly Photographer

TIME Magazine​Update: The covergirl's name is Sarah Mason. Details below. It's ironic enough that TIME Magazine chose L.A. street artist Shepard Fairey to design today's "Person of the Year" cover, which depicts an anonymous protester peering from between her beanie and bandana. Fairey is the ... More >>

Fairey Tales

Shepard Fairey Designs Wall for New District La Brea Shopping Complex

​ Wait, what? Is that Shepard Fairey putting up a mural in broad daylight on La Brea at 11 a.m.? The cops are going to stop him any second! Fairey is the street artist who rose to fame in 2008 when his Obama "Hope" poster became the emblem of an era, and was a major player in the 2010 Banksy ... More >>

Obama Throws Shepard Fairey And His Iconic 'Hope' Poster Under The Bus in Search of New Paradigm For 2012: No More 'Sexy' Time

Shepard Fairey / APObama says no more 'Hope.'​What a difference three years make: President Obama has graying hair, Osama Bid Laden and Moammar Gadhafi are dead, and people are, to quote the Facebook meme, now blaming "the black guy" for George W. Bush's Great Recession. Times have changed ... More >>

Cheating Charter Schools

Shepard Fairey, L.A. Street Artist, Designs Party Invite for Occupy Wall Street

theoccupationparty.comA West Coast legend does his part.​Yup. This just happened. Right after receiving the victorious news from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg that Occupy Wall Street doesn't have to move out of Zuccotti Park after all, protest organizers learned they'd been blessed with a S ... More >>

Shepard Fairey Sticker-Bombs L.A. Department of City Planning

Los Angeles City Planning - Code Studies via Facebook"Shepard Fairey sticker bombs City Hall," writes the department.​Update: LA Weekly speaks with the recipient of the package, who is positively tickled. Interview at the bottom. Uh-oh -- the fight between muralists and the L.A political mach ... More >>

Shepard Fairey Beat Up in Copenhagen, Called 'Yankee Hipster' and 'Obama Illuminati'

Shepard FaireyFairey's claim to fame -- and possible downfall.​Don't worry: L.A. artist Shepard Fairey, 41, only has a "black eye and a bruised rib" after a pummeling he received in Copenhagen, Denmark last weekend. But the implications for Fairey's international street cred as a graffiti and ... More >>

Judge Rules Run-DMC Photo, Used by L.A. Street Artist Mr. Brainwash, Protected by Copyright Law: What Will It Mean for Fair Use?

PHOTO BY GREGORY BOJORQUEZMr. Brainwash just got busted.​Forget the Shepard Fairey case. Music photographer Glen E. Friedman's lawsuit against Mr. Brainwash, the street artist profiled alongside Banksy in Oscar-nominated doc "Exit Through the Gift Shop," is the one to watch for legal fair-use ... More >>

Exclusive: MOCA's "Art in the Streets" Artist Roll Call

Art in the Streets, The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, photos by Gregory Bojorquez, courtesy of MOCA​ LA Weekly has the scoop on the much-anticipated artist list for the "Art in the Streets" exhibit at MOCA, which begins April 17. We can't wait. We figured you couldn't either. Look out for our ... More >>

Today Is The Most Depressing Day Of The Year: Welcome To 'Blue Monday' In L.A.

Here's one way to deal with the blues.​Welcome to the most depressing day of the year. Statistics indicate that y'all are bummed out. Your bank account is drained after the holidays. You still have a post-ecstasy fog from that New Year's eve bender. And it's still almost six months until summe ... More >>

Shepard Fairey Victorious: U.S. District Judge Shuts Down Lawsuits On Both Sides Of Obama 'Hope' Poster Case

Thanks, AP.​Update: AP announced in a statement Wednesday morning that the two sides have settled. Who gets what? After the jump. (Shepard speaks, too). In a strange sign of the times, the image that epitomized much of America's desire to put the Bush years behind us, L.A. artist Shepard Fair ... More >>

Shepard Fairey Auctioning Off Tour Of His L.A. Private Studio

This guy, this place.​Artist Shepard Fairey is auctioning off a tour of his private Los Angeles studio -- and no, it's not to raise money for his legal defense fund after he got in hot water for using an Associated Press photo as the basis for his iconic "Hope" poster of President Obama. Inst ... More >>

A Punk Rock Interview with Shepard Fairey, Featured Artist for Alternative Press Magazine's 25th Anniversary Exhibit

Shepard Fairey, the DJ​Although his most recognizable (and controversial) work is 2008's Barack Obama "HOPE" poster, influential street artist Shepard Fairey's biggest motivation comes from connecting with music, not making splashy headlines. Old school album art, flyers and T-shirts from band ... More >>

Once Bitten, Twice Buy: The Cobrasnake's Cobrashop Opens at Hollywood & Highland

Girls with homeless-hag hair and pricey designer bags, boys in fugly (desperate for irony) t-shirts, and cartoon characterish cliques grooving geekily (yet self-consciously) to tunes spun by Shepard Fairey (M.I.A., The Go-Gos and The Beastie Boys). Last Tuesday night's grand opening of The Cobrashop ... More >>

Under Investigation, Shepard Fairey Keeps 'Hope' Alive

​The trouble for Shepard Fairey stemming from his iconic, pre-election 'Hope' poster of President Obama continues this week: Lawyers in a civil case against him filed by the Associated Press have indicated that the Los Angeles artist is under criminal investigation in connection with the piece ... More >>

Johnny Cash, Joe Strummer, Antonino D'Ambrosio and Shepard Fairey at Subliminal Projects: Bitter Tears, Fury, and Politics

By Barbara Celis Art is the antidote. This timeless truth became clear once again on Saturday night when Subliminal Projects, the Echo Park art gallery owned by Shepard Fairey, hosted a politically- and musically-charged event that celebrated artists as activists and art as a way to agitate conscio ... More >>

Shepard Fairey's Fumbles May Cost Him Lucrative L.A. Public Art Project

​It's been a rough couple of weeks for Shepard Fairey, the Echo Park renegade-turned-commercial artist whose iconic Obama campaign poster brought him national attention. First, he admitted lying in a lawsuit involving the Associated Press, which is demanding that Fairey pay royalties for using an ... More >>

L.A. Artist Shepard Fairey Admits Lying About Obama Image

​Controversial guerrilla artist-turned-mainstream maverick Shepard Fairey has done something he rarely does: admitted he was wrong. The Echo Park graphic designer, who has been embroiled in a lawsuit over his iconic poster for President Obama's campaign, has confessed to lying about the origins of ... More >>

Shepard Fairey Attacks 'Eastsider' Blogger

The Eastsider L.A. ran an interesting piece recently about renowned street artist Shepard Fairey having the brick walls of his Echo Park studio-gallery sandblasted and coated with anti-graffiti sealant. The post, "This is One Wall Shepard Fairey Wants to Keep Free of Self-Expression," noted that Fai ... More >>

Probation for Shepard Fairey

Associated Press reports that Echo Park graphic artist Shepard Fairey has pleaded guilty in a Boston court to three counts involving the destruction or defacement of property. In exchange for the pleas, prosecutors dropped 11 other charges and Fairey received two years probation and a $2,000 fine th ... More >>

Special Drinko por Cinco Mariachi Cheat-Sheet Edition

The New Yorker Discovers Shepard Fairey

The latest issue of The New Yorker carries a tart appraisal by the veteran art critic Peter Schjeldahl of Echo Park graphic artist Shepard Fairey. With the pandemic success of his "Obama Hope" poster illustration, and recent Boston arrest for grafitti crimes, Fairey has begun to disturb the afternoo ... More >>

Outlaw Art at Bergamot Station

The Art of Rebellion: Fairey Fanatics, Low Brow Art Lovers @ Bergamot Station

Shepard Fairey's Johnny Ramone posterOn February 7, the same day Shepard Fairey was arrested in Boston on tagging charges, approximately 150 people lined up outside Bergamot Station's Robert Berman Gallery to nab limited edition Fairey posters. Hours after the show opened it was still difficult to ... More >>

Shepard Fairey Arrested

Shepard Fairey, whose iconic "Obama/Hope" illustration became the banner of a political movement, has been called a genius and a plagiarizer, depending on who you listen to. Now, according to the Boston Police Department, Fairey is also a grafitti tagger, whom its cops arrested last night. An Associ ... More >>

AP to Shepard Fairey: Where's Our Money?

Sooner or later it had to happen, we suppose. Echo Park graphic artist Shepard Fairey, whose haunting poster illustration of Barack Obama became the defining image of Obama's successful presidential campaign, is being accused of copyright infringement and asked to pay royalties for the source image. ... More >>

Make That German Shepard Fairey

After creating the definitive political poster with his iconic Barack Obama "Hope" illustration, Echo Park graphic artist Shepard Fairey is marketing a new work for another cause close to his heart. Fairey's Mutts Like Me site offers an "Adopt" poster depicting a somewhat forlorn looking dog, bathed ... More >>

Shepard Fairey's "Hope" Smithsonian-Bound

Not only is Mr. Obama going to Washington, but so is the iconic poster portrait of him created by Echo Park artist Shepard Fairey. According to the Associated Press, a copy of the work has been acquired by the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery for its permanent collection. AP  reports tha ... More >>

The Crystal Method, J-Boogie, King Most and Jeremy Sole

Dance for Change

Yosi Sergant and the Art of Change: The Publicist Behind Shepard Fairey's Obama Hope Posters

The facilitator talks Obama, art, the DNC and Fairey's Denver arrest

Trance-a-licious at the Shrine; Local Heroes Warehouse Shindig

Tempt Yourself

Photos from the Tempt One benefit

Lisa D'Amato Likes Balls, Jason Bentley "Not Sure" About Elephants

I wasn't at Banksy's Barely Legal opening party last night, but I did bump in to OBEY artist Shepard Fairey later on at La Cita downtown, and he told me all about it. He said that it was 'amazing' (not an unexpected response from Fairey, who believes Banksy to be one of the most important ... More >>

Factory of Talent

Shepard Fairey and Studio Number One

Nightranger

OBEY?

In step with Shepard Fairey, the emperor of ubiquity