Those of you who live SF may have actually seen Shepard Fairey's work (see 6th and Folsom on the left --it's not there anymore). If you seen a giant image of a man's face (actually Andre the giant to be exact) then you've seen the work of this visual artist. Currently there is a half of the giant's face on Lombard st. I recently acquired his book "Obey: Supply and Demand" and I have to say that it's fantastic!
It chronicles Fairey's work since 1989-90 when he began the "giant" campaign based off a sticker of Andre the Giant (yes the professional wrestler) that claims Andre the Giant has a posse. It has formed and melded into many forms over the years but one thing remains the same. Fairey's brilliant eye for creating striking images that grab your attention.
Fairey invokes a true sense of visual disobedience posting his art not in galleries but in public spaces. He talks about his work in terms of Heidegger's "phenomenology" saying people become numb to their environment, and they need certain experiences to snap them out of their trance. Heidegger said "a hammer isn't a hammer b/c it looks like a hammer; it's a hammer because it hammers things." Fairey's obey campaign isn't propaganda because it has a message but because it's everywhere. It's about function not face value. You form a theory to validate experience not find the experience that validates your theory.
Fairey expresses that his sticker/poster campaign that has been raging all these years didn't start with a message, it started with a medium. The medium is the message. If you encounter a large stoic face on the side of a building and it has the word "Obey" printed beneath it, you are left to wonder obey what? In it's own way it's telling you not to obey, after all this medium is illegal street art.
But if your in love with form, function, and the pursuit of great art (or just have a love for stickers like me). I defiantly recommend that you check out Shepard's book or website.
