Why Artist Shepard Fairey's Latest Exhibit Is At The Glendale Central Library

Published Feb 4, 2024 5:00 AM

A gallery wall featuring two rows of prints including portraits of Frida Kahlo and Ruth Bader Ginsburg,

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Tucked inside a gallery space at the Glendale Central Library is artist Shepard Fairey's latest exhibit, Peace is Radical.

Fairey is best known for his iconic design of the Hope print for Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. His work first gained international attention in the 1990s — with his Obey Giant street art campaign featuring the image of Andre the Giant.

I spoke with Fairey about his exhibit, including a limited edition library card he designed for the library that's currently available. Here are edited excerpts from our conversation:

Why collaborate with the Glendale Central Library

“ I love doing things that engage civically... spaces like the library are very democratic. And [it shows] that government can support the arts in meaningful ways."

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Pictured here is the design Shepard Fairey created for a limited edition Glendale library card. On the top left are the words: Glendale Library Arts and Culture sitting above a bold red triangle and yellow and white floral print. The right left of the image is an outlined stencil of a right hand making a peace sign with the words "peace is radical"

The meaning of 'Peace is Radical'

“I have done a lot of work over the years about promoting peace, harmony, diplomacy and used a lot of different symbols. But the peace sign with the peace fingers is something that's been a recurrent motif because I think it's understood across many cultures and nations. It's especially relevant right now with what's going on in the Ukraine and in Israel and Palestine.

The whole concept of peace being radical to me is that too many people take the reactionary path of resorting to violence rather than taking a deep breath and putting their ego in check for a second and finding a compromise that avoids violence. That is a more unfortunately radical [way].”

A guest with long hair in a baseball cap has her back turned to the camera looking at a set of prints. The most prominent is a framed design with a hand making a peace sign with the words "peace is radical"

A large mural covers an entire gallery wall includes the words "peace and justice for humanity" and "peace is radical." the right side shows geometric patterns and large black-outlined flower. Repeated prints of scales of justice is on the left side and in the middle, a woman's face and two peace-sign hands.

A corner of the gallery: on the left; a larger, rectangular print featuring two contrasting woman and the words "for your convenience - idealized optics!" On the right, two rows of different prints including a portrait of Ai Weiwei and a piece with an outlined peace sign made by a hand and the words, "Obey. Peace is Radical. Violence is Weak."

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Why screen printing is Fairey’s preferred medium

“Screen printing has been the cornerstone of my practice for over 30 years because it is so effective and efficient in making graphic images that can be fine art, or they can be put up on the street. They can be disseminated. They can be sold inexpensively.

So screen printing really aligns with my philosophy that art should be accessible. It should be democratic. And when I say accessible I mean, experiencing it firsthand outside of just elite spaces like galleries and museums, but also accessible pricewise.

And it's not a super difficult technique. I started to learn how to do it in middle school. So I know from my own experience how empowering it is so I’m using it as part of a template of empowerment for other people.”

How he conveys a message with an image

“If you can impact the audience emotionally — that the intellectual side of the message will be something that their emotional side wants to reconcile and justify if it gives them a positive, strong feeling — then that can break through predispositions, any sort of barrier they might have put up because it doesn't align with the way they identify politically or socially.

And so I'm always looking for what is the imagery? What is the text? What is the color scheme that's going to achieve that? It is not a precise science at all. A lot of it is based on feeling and trial and error. And sometimes I have an idea and after I render it, I realize it's not succeeding and I keep pushing. I keep tinkering and experimenting until it's giving me the feeling that I hope it will give to other people.

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We are not a monolithic species so it will never have the same desired effect on everyone. But I do trust that we as humans have a lot in common. And that if it moves me, that it will at least move some other people. I'm not a person driven by faith generally but I do have faith in that principle.”

Fairey’s new work

"I'm working on a lot of pieces to promote civic engagement and voting. I think civic engagement means more than just voting but I am very concerned about the preservation of democracy. So this is a big focus of mine between now and the election.”

Shepard Fairey’s Peace is Radical is at the Glendale Central Library’s ReflectSpace through April 14th, 2024.