THE NEW POSTER BOY

All political art is propaganda that is the point, but Fairey wanted something more iconic 8212; aspirational, inspirational8212;iquest; and cool. The 2008 Democratic primary season equivalent of the Che poster with all that implies. More Mao, more right now. The kind of poster that might make its way onto dorm room walls of fanboys. The kind of poster that might sell on eBay, as a signed Fairey Obama recently did, for 5,900. He wanted his posters to go viral.

8220;I wanted strong. I wanted wise, but not intimidating,8221; Fairey says.

Who is this Shepard Fairey? He is a skate pun8212; iquest; with a secretary. A CEO in Puma sneakers. The rebel who did Pepsi ads. Since 1989, Fairey has been slapping stickers and pasting posters depicting the face of the Andre the Giant, the deceased French actor and professional wrestler, on every available surface, legal and not. Thousands of his Andre stickers include the word 8220;OBEY8221; in bold lettering. Obey what? Obey whom? Aha. It is reverse psychology. Pssst! Don8217;t obey.

In his 1990 manifesto, Fairey wrote that 8220;the Giant sticker campaign can be explained as an experiment in Phenomenology. Martin Heidegger, the German philosopher, says Phenomenology 8220;attempts to enable people to see clearly something that is right before their eyes but obscured; things that are so taken for granted that they become muted by abstract observation.8221;

8220;The sticker has no meaning but exists only to cause people to react, to contemplate and search for meaning in the sticker,8221; wrote Fairey.

His pro bono Obey Giant campaign created a niche market for Fairey8217;s graphic desig8212;s iquest; for movie ads Walk the Line, album covers Led Zeppelin8217;s 8216;Mothership8217; compilation and the brown spirits Dewars Scotch.

Fairey 38, has done his share of political art in the past. He did posters for Ralph Nader in 2000. In 2004, he did George W. Bush, depicting the president as a grinning vampire. In the weeks before Super Tuesday 2008, 8220;I put out the word I wanted to do something for Obama,8221; explains Fairey, 8220;I really want him to win, so I didn8217;t want to do anything that would cause him problems.8221; The Obama people, somewhat to his surprise, said go ahead.

To create his Obama poster which he did in less than a week, Fairey grabbed a news photograph of the candidate off the Internet. He sought an Obama that looked presidential. 8220;He is gazing off into the future, saying, 8216;I can guide you,8217; 8220; is how Fairey reads the image. The artist then simplified the lines and geometry, employing a red, white and blue patriotic palette. He uses a lot of red along with boldface words: PROGRESS or HOPE or CHANGE.

8220;I wanted the poster to be recognizable as my work, and to be appealing to a younger, apathetic audience, yet tame enough not to be seen as radical or offensive to the more mainstream political participants,8221; Fairey explains. 8220;You want to create the most flattering shapes. Strong in the face of adversity. How the light falls beautifully. It8217;s idealized.8221;

Not only has Fairey done Obama, but works on the walls of his studio and on his Web site include depictions of Sid Vicious, Bobby Seale, Chairman Mao, Noam Chomsky, Emiliano Zapata, Patty Hearst, Vladimir Lenin and Richard Nixon.

Fairey rummages around on his desk and produces a letter from Obama himself. 8220;Dear Shepard,8221; the candidate writes. 8220;I would like to thank you for using your talent in support of my campaign. The political messages involved in your work have encouraged Americans to believe they can help change the status quo. Your images have a profound effect on people, whether seen in a gallery or on a stop sign. 8230;8221;

Messages. Images. Effect. Someone understands phenomenology. And the thing about stop signs? 8220;He8217;s kind of endorsing graffiti,8221; Fairey says, 8220;isn8217;t he?8221;

He has more Obama art in the works. Coming up next? Ten thousand bicycle spoke cards.
-William Booth LATWP