We recently went to the Institute of Contemporary Art to see the Shepard Fairy exhibit, “Supply & Demand”. He is best known for his iconic Obama “Hope” image, and made headlines for being arrested by the Boston police for vandalism warrants. I’d been aware of some of his work - the “Andre Has a Posse”, the red Mozilla.org dinosaur logo – but didn’t know they were from one artist.
I’ve found I really like the borrowed style of Constructivist and propaganda art, and Fairey nails that. In particular, there is one room of the exhibit that features several huge paintings & a wall of smaller works that was amazing. That alone made the visit it worth it (plus I like the ICA building itself.) The exhibit also features a series of portraits that were not as engaging, except for the striking Obama portrait. Overall, I agreed with recent New Yorker review that salutes his design more than a unifying message of the work. (Also, my inner-Holden-Caulfield gets triggered when I’m looking at capitalist-questioning art that certainly sells for a lot and that everyone has paid at least $12 to see. Or that it is street art that was often put up without permission but now has large signs next to it forbidding photography of it.)
Fairey has installed several murals around Boston, including at Tufts University. I took a trip over to Somerville to my old stomping grounds to take a few shots of it.