One surefire way to inject some inspiration into a project is by opening up the objective to the world at large. We were pleased to see crowd-sourcing contests by two very different artistic enterprises—Marvel Comics and Shepard Fairey for the LA Fund—tasking illustrators and students to get in on the…
Continue Reading…
With new murals in downtown Manhattan and the Bronx, a pop-up store in the works, a project with City Kids, and new limited edition prints, the events surrounding
Shepard Fairey’s upcoming solo show “May Day” almost amount to more of a city-wide residency. But the internationally-acclaimed artist, whose last major exhibit was a touring museum retrospective and whose Obama poster was one of the most iconic images of the historic campaign, big is nothing new. While Fairey’s fame naturally invites criticism, the show (opening 1 May 2010 at Deitch, and closing the NYC institution) is a reminder of exactly what makes the prolific artist such an important generational voice.
Filled with portraits of cultural and political heroes and images addressing various social issues—all depicted in Fairey’s propaganda-poster-meets-street-art style—his work’s strength lies in its direct Warholian style and unapologetic messages. From his original Obey stickers to his ongoing commitment to human rights, environmentalism, and other pressing issues of our time, Fairey’s art practice has always been about the power of words and images to effect change.
As Antonino D’Ambrosio writes in his essay for the book that will accompany the show, the image of Clash guitarist and lead singer Joe Strummer (a CH exclusive and the first produced for this series) represents a figure like Fairey himself, who D’Ambrosio calls, “a creative-activist who is always FOR and never against. He is about PRODUCING not reducing. He wishes to go FORWARD not fall backward.”
May Day runs through 29 May 2010.
Humorous and provocative, the much-anticipated film Exit Through the Gift Shop by the U.K.’s leading street artist Banksy is impressively on par with his captivating artworks. After its surprise premiere at Sundance last year, the well-edited movie opens in select cities across the U.S. on 16 April 2010.
Don’t expect to watch a revelatory documentary on the elusive British artist. Instead, the film revolves around French-born L.A. resident Thierry Guetta, or Mr. Brainwash— an obsessive vintage store owner whose preoccupation with filming street artists in the late ’90s led him to a chance friendship with Banksy through the equally legendary street artist Shepard Fairey.
In an exclusive interview Fairey discussed with CH how his relationship with Guetta has changed since his breakthrough show in L.A., which Fairey subsequently criticized. “I think it’s important to be honest, because I know he respects me and I’m not just a hater. I think he has potential to evolve into a good artist if he takes some of this constructive criticism to heart. He came out with a big bang without the same sort of period of gestation that other artists have. It’s not an open and closed thing. Everyone has the potential to evolve if they work at it.”
Much of the film’s footage comes from Guetta, who was planning on creating his own documentary chronicling the history of graffiti. From accompanying Fairey and Guetta’s cousin Space Invader as they put up their pieces in the middle of the night to becoming Banksy’s right-hand man in L.A. and helping him pull off the infamous stunt at Disneyland, Guetta filmed it all. When Banksy saw the finished film, however, he took all 10,000 hours of footage, re-edited it, and shifted the focus on Guetta himself.
In his typical extreme style, Guetta set about mounting a show as loud and hyped—if not more, even—than Banksy’s own “Barely Legal” in the abandoned CBS Studios in L.A. in 2008, propelling him into the spotlight overnight.
Most of the film’s commentary is by Fairey and Banksy himself, who discuss Guetta’s artistic merit in a dry manner. Without spoiling the ending, we will tell you that there is a twisted conclusion about street art as a whole that will have you contemplating the medium for days.
Fairey, whose new show “May Day” opens at Deitch Projects 1 May 2010, explains “People now look at street art as a legitimate form of expression and a good way to get attention. Even if the artwork is pointless, the medium is still a pretty powerful message.”
Los Angeles, NYC, San Francisco, Berkeley and Palo Alto will see the film first, followed by Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago and Seattle on 23 April 2010. Check banksyfilm.com for dates in other cities.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
