Disposable Heroes

Wow, I know this is wishful thinking but I will be gunning for this print tonight around 3:00am. This is Shepard Fairey's latest work. There are 450 of these signed and numbered prints going up for sale at his website tomorrow around 1:00pm (US Eastern Time). I haven't been able to score the last few released prints but perhaps my luck will change tonight. Twittle-fingers, don't fail me now! This print has especially specific meaning to me, as my little brother just joined the US Marines. I'm supportive and proud of him, though I tried to dissuade him for the past several years. See Metallica's Disposable Heroes lyrics here.

Peace & justice

These are Shepard Fairey’s latest two prints. I like them, though don’t find them as cool as his Lotus Diamond prints! I think they look a little flat without any shading. They are scheduled to drop for sale this Tuesday (1/31) at an undisclosed time at the Obey Giant website. I’ll be in Japan but will definitely be gunning for at least one of these prints. I had no luck trying to score the Occupy Protester print that he released a couple of weeks ago. Although my awesome sister, Mary, did snag me a copy of Time Magazine which featured Fairey’s print of Sarah Mason (occupy protestor) as person of the year. Thanks Mare!

Revolutions

Yesterday I met my sister Mary at her frame shop in Summit, NJ so we could drive down to Asbury Park and see Shepard Fairey's album cover art show: Revolutions. Asbury Park itself is an odd, sleepy little town. Ocean Ave is the main drag along the shore with a boardwalk on the ocean side and all sorts of odd sights along the inland side. It reminded me of Cherynoble: old funky hotels, half built structures with concrete pillars sprouting rebar high into the air and several empty parking lots. Still, the boardwalk seemed to have a some energy to it and when you glanced around the entire scene, giant Shepard Fairy murals popped out at you in the distance. We walked around the area taking pictures of the art Fairey had posted here and there and then popped into the gallery to see his Revolutions show. I have to say, seeing his work full size and up close was really amazing. The detail he puts into the pieces and his seemingly endless creativity continue to impress me. Mary and I both bought the latest edition of his book Supply & Demand and even got it for about $15 cheaper than it sells for at the Obey Giant website; sweet! Below are a few images from the day and here is a gallery of all the images.

I'll be your mirror

I scored this sweet new Shepard Fairey print while riding the crosstown bus through Central Park last night. Fairey was asked by ATP, to create this poster to help publicize this weekend's music festival: I'll Be Your Mirror. This print was released for sale yesterday but it had sold out immediately. However, there must have been a glitch in the Obey Giant website because when I checked back yesterday evening I was delighted to find it was still available! *Snag!* I think its pretty cool that Fairey incorporated the old Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park, into the print. Side note: I love the fact that I was able to buy this print using my iPhone; so convenient. Every second counts when trying to buy new Fairey pieces; they usually sell out in a matter of minutes!

Rather than describe the print myself, I'm going to cut & paste Mr.Fairey's own words here:

All Tomorrow’s Parties is a great independent music festival that does events around the world. I attended one in LA a few years ago to catch great shows by Iggy and the Stooges and Mission of Burma. ATP has a great concept of asking people or bands to curate the festival. They have asked people like Jim Jarmusch, Matt Groening, Thurston Moore, The Melvins, and for this year’s festival, Portishead. I love Portishead, so I was happy to be asked to create the poster this year. The festival is happening in an amazing building on the boardwalk in Asbury Park NJ, so I incorporated the building into the design of the poster. I’ll be doing murals, an art show, and DJ’ing as part of the ATP festival, so I’m getting to indulge all my passions in a concentrated way this week. Oh, Public Enemy is performing their classic sonic thunderstorm of an album “Fear of a Black Planet”… shake your rump and pump your fist!!!! If you don’t know what I’m talking about, improve your life immediately and get that record. Or, get to Asbury Park and check it out.

-Shepard Fairey

My sister Mary and I are heading over to Asbury Park, NJ this Sunday to check out Fairey's album art show titled Revolutions during this ATP event. He's created a lot of excellent album covers over the years, for some really great bands, to include the likes of the Smashing Pumpkins, Billy Idol, Tom Petty, and 311. I don't think we'll take in any of the shows but I'm sure we'll be able to hear them jamming out. We're more interested in seeing the Revolutions show; it's going to be fantastic and I'm pretty stoked to check it out!

I also found this little gem where you can download a mix tape of tracks from the bands playing at the I'll Be Your Mirror Show this weekend. Enjoy! [click here to listen/download]

Peace Doves

Shepard Fairey will be releasing his latest work, the Obey Dove print set, today at a random time. I love they way these look, although I am a fan of almost all of his work. He is only releasing 325 of these numbered and signed screen prints and is selling them for the modest price of a mere $90.00. Though he has not released a statement describing his intended meaning behind the design of these prints, I can only provide my own uneducated interpretation of them. To me, the doves, a symbol of peace, placed squarely in the center of the concentric rings (bulls eyes?) could be interpreted a lot of ways. The doves may be an objective, goal or target or their placement could illicit a statement of being in harm's way. Perhaps the duality of war and peace? There is also a militant vibe about the prints; with the triangular shape at the bottom of each, liken to that of the USAF rank insignia.

At any rate, I am prepared to purchase these prints which should disappear within minutes of their release today. I have my homepage set to the Obey Giant store and will begin reloading the page around 1:00 eastern time which has proven to be his usual release time. Wish me luck!

Edit: Well, I missed these prints! I was well prepared but just not fast enough to beat the entire world wide web! They sold out in less than 60 seconds!