Contradiction in Terms: Shepard Fairey

Some thoughtful press agent forwarded me this video interview with Shepard Fairey of Obama poster fame talking about art and activism. Click here if the video doesn't work.

How does his marketing campaign for Saks fit into this spiel?

Kudos to Mr. Fairey for his excellent graphic design. As for his activism, the less videos made, the better.

Shepard Fairey: Over Exposed and Over It

Shepard Fairey. You've heard the name, I've heard the name. We've seen the posters, read about the ad campaign for department store Saks. Lord knows we've heard about the recent Obama photograph debacle.

Look at the art. We get it. Nothing more need be said. Or even done by him. There's a website that can do his art for you. (Note the website is pretty neat.) Never want to hear the name again, nor see another person's internet photo Obama-ized.

Pardon me, am I ranting? If so, only because as an artist his recent work in itself is not that interesting.

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There. I said it.

ARTnews Bores Me

From the November issue of the venerable ARTnews comes a revelation: "Street art—including stickers, posters, murals, graffiti, and even 3-D sculptures—is making its way into mainstream galleries and museums." No shit, Sherlock. Is the air under your rock stifling you?

This is why I don't really read ARTnews: it bores me. You?

It bores me because the content is exactly what I could have surmised myself. In this leading article "Two way street," writer Carolina Miranda addresses street art's entry into mainstream channels of consumption. After Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art, London’s Tate Modern, the Museum of Modern Art and the Brooklyn Museum in New York have each 'covered' the genre-- then ARTnews document it. Musuem have been paying attention, as have galleries and collectors. ARTnews is even falling behind the mainstream. Tsk tsk....

ARTnews tags itself as "The oldest, most-widely read fine arts magazine in the world." Congratulations! Now step up your act before you become "The oldest, most-atavistic art history magazine in the world."
More discussion of the effects of street art going mainstream would have been welcome. Their work has gone from the street to the inner sanctums, and artists no longer face the same resistance and challenges to spreading or selling their work. It's been made legitimate. This safe, generic article doesn't touch on these issues, but it does continue to erode the charm of illictness street art once possesed. To its (small) credit, it does mention Shepard Fairey, of Andre the Giant fame, Lazarides, whose show on Bowery I loved a few weeks ago, and also to my hometown. On the other hand, they work with and talk to all the right people, and there's something to be said for that.