SHEPARD FAIREY AKA OBEY

Frank Shepard Fairey (Charleston, February 15, 1970) is an American artist. The son of a doctor and a real estate agent, Fairey grew up in South Carolina, studied art and graduated from the Academy of Art in 1988. In 1989 he conceived and created the initiative Andre the Giant Has a Posse; he scattered the walls of the city with stickers reproducing the face of the free-style wrestler André the Giant; the same stickers were then replicated by other artists in other cities. Fairey himself later explained that there was no particular meaning in the choice of the subject, the purpose of the campaign was to produce a media phenomenon and to make citizens reflect on their relationship with the urban environment. But the initiative that gave Fairey international visibility was the Hope poster reproducing the stylised face of Barack Obama in four-colour process, which became the icon of the electoral campaign that then brought the Democratic representative to the White House. Art critic Peter Schjeldahl called the poster "the most effective American political illustration since Uncle Sam." The poster appeared, again during the 2008 election campaign, with two other slogans: "Change" and "Vote." Obama's campaign never officially announced the collaboration with Fairey, probably because the posters were put up illegally, as is the tradition of street art, but the president, once elected, sent a letter to the artist, later made public, in which he thanked Fairey for his creative contribution to his campaign. The letter ended with these words: "I am privileged to be part of your artwork and proud to have your support."