Shepard Fairey has a posse; all eager to see his most ambitious show to date. Thousands of art lovers lined up for about a 1/2 mile around the block just to get a glimpse of Fairey's opening night for his latest show, Damaged. A diverse crowd waited until the 8 o'clock opening, some in line since 3pm. A huge wall painted in Shepard's iconic style, "Damaged-Problems Diagnosed and Repaired Here!" was the only preview those in line were teased with while waiting.
Once inside the only thing one could see was a sea of people milling about trying to decide on what to experience first. A live concert was blasting featuring bands like TRDMRK, The Shrine and The Fever 333 all took their turn on stage keeping the energy high and alive!
A huge warehouse was the venue for Damaged. A collection of new and classic pieces covering all walls. Some framed and some painted directly on the giant walls. What was interesting was the fact that that all the works were 100% Shepard Fairey. Blue, red and cream tones as far as the eye could see. His ability to juxtapos society's problems and solution in the same image gave hope. To paraphrase Fairey, "it's easy to focus on whats wrong with the world, but it takes more effort to identify solutions." Along with his political work, stenciled portraits were also featured. Debbie Harry, DT, Tommy Ramone, Joe Strummer, Jimmi Hendrix and of course his iconic take on Andre the Giant filled 15 foot walls.
Shepard credits his influences from Rauschenburg to the film They Live and although there is a tinge of those influences, Fairey is clearly an original. Not only were there paintings but a live printing press working away with a crew creating prints live on the scene. A telephone booth with a lightbox image of a spray can with " Coup D'Etat" glowing and asking onlookers to Obey. A full installation of a news stand featuring The Damaged Times with "Manifest Destiny! Or can we wake up from the darkness?" as the headline on the cover with contributors like Henry Rollins, Naomi Klein, David DeGraw and Arlene Mejorado.
His more political works like the images he created for the Women's March earlier this year, environmental statements and a critical look at consumerism were there to remind patrons there is more to art than pretty paintings.
The show was a triumph, for sure. 18 months in the making, and well worth the wait to see.
Brought to the people by Library Street Collective
-James
Click image below for slideshow by Psyko Boys...
Damaged by Shepard Fairey is a turning point for art's comeback and uniting social classes, races, genders, ages and music and fashion, all brought together for one reason only ... to see the new, largest installation by Shepard Fairey. The event was expected to be big and without a doubt the most common word heard was “wow!" The mix of hip hop and punk ... young and old ... rich and poor ... there was no fighting ... no ego ... no hate ... plenty of tattoos and everyone was able to coexist. Ironically under all the “damage” there is still hope and power in numbers. We can easily live in fear about our unknown future... we can continue to get angry or give up or give in ... quit art and get depressed... we can be dumb or get smart...read a book or two.
The message was loud and clear ... Peace over War and Love over Hate ... Never forget Shepard got started with stickers and spray paint.
XOXOX -Fernando Guerrero