When ARTINFO spoke with Shepard Fairey this week, he took a moment to vent about the usual coverage of him in the media: that it’s sensationalist and attention-grabbing, and lures people in with flashy headlines and drama (Fairey’s a Plagiarist! Fairey Arrested!). But is what the increasingly popular artist, currently being celebrated in a touring midcareer retrospective now at the Institute for Contemporary Art (ICA) in Boston, does with his art — distractingly graphic, alluring, and oh so easy on the eye — so different? He admits here that he uses his skills as an artist to bring to people’s attention issues they might not have explored on their own. The distinction, perhaps, is that while the media are trying to “get eyeballs on” their products, as he says, Fairey really does seem motivated by ideals (that public space should be reclaimed from advertisers) and causes (in the last year he’s done work for everything from MoveOn.org to Feeding America to Adopt-a-Pet) rather than profit or fame. Not that he hasn’t earned both.
His latest project is a poster, created in the same style as his ubiquitous Obama Hope image, of Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese dissident and rightful, democratically elected leader of the Southeast Asian country, who is currently under house arrest, and has been in and out of house arrest and prison since 1988. ARTINFO spoke to Fairey about the poster, the cause, and the power of art.
:: LINK Via ArtInfo ::
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