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I grew up in South Carolina, so when I saw street art and graffiti up everywhere on my early trips to New York, I fell in love with the art form. It wasn’t about elitists institutions, and that inspired me. Keith Haring’s philosophy that “the public has a right to art” was embodied in his street art and the art products he made affordable for the masses, all of which made my path as an artist very clear. Keith Haring is a hero of mine because of his mission to make his work accessible and make art more democratic. Haring’s hybrid of street, gallery, products and clothing, with all pushing forward social commentary. He funded his accessible works, like t-shirts, posters, pins, through his fine art paintings, which is a model that I have adopted myself. This letterpress print is an homage to Keith Haring as an artist, activist, shaper of culture and personal role model. A portion of proceeds from this print will go to Ali Forney Center.
I did this illustration because I love Keith Haring and his art, but also because I had an opportunity to do something very cool with Adobe, so keep your eyes peeled for that project. In the meantime, here’s the print. Thank you to photographer Paulo Fridman for providing the reference image for this illustration.
-Shepard
Art is for Everybody. 14.5 x 19 inches. Letterpress on cream cotton paper with hand-deckled edges.. Original photo by Paulo Fridman. Signed by Shepard Fairey. Numbered edition of 450. $80. Proceeds go to Ali Forney Center. Obey publishing chop in lower left corner Available on Thursday, September 3rd @ 10 AM PDT at https://store.obeygiant.com/collections/prints. Max order: 1 per customer/household. International customers are responsible for import fees due upon delivery. Orders may be delayed due to COVID19. ALL SALES FINAL.
