I wanna kick my own ass every time I drive by the spot where the old "Motown Center" building used to stand in Detroit. It isn't because of my failure to break in before Randy Wilcox got there and smuggled away all the artifacts (though that does give me pangs from time to time). Rather, it's because as many times as I'd planned to, I never took a crowbar down there and pried the Shepard Fairey "Giant" off the side of the building.
It was a beauty too — about a 4'x6' plywood panel nailed to the ground level of the structure to keep looters out. Fairey's now ubiquitous graphic of Andre the Giant was spray-painted over the full span of the board. It signified the first hit in Detroit for the guerilla street artist and his international network of co-conspirators. And this one was extra sexy, as it did not include the ominous "OBEY" slogan that would accompany later versions of the graphic.
Fairey is a controversial figure in the realms of street art, as he is professionally schooled and occasionally involves himself with big corporate brands. Though some of his images seem trite to me (overexposure perhaps?), I admire his provocative methods. And his latest campaign is one I can get behind whole-heartedly.
Over the course of the presidential primaries, Fairey has busied himself creating poster art in support of Barack Obama. The screen prints, which have included at least 3 different visages of the candidate, are emblazoned with messages like "Hope," "Progress" and, the latest, "Change." As NPR reported this week, Obama's camp has embraced the print provocateur and currently offers the "Change" poster for sale on its website for $70 a pop.
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