Shepard Fairey’s parents told him when he was a child that if he grew up to be a successful artist, he might one day have the opportunity to work with the Gibbes Museum of Art.
Although it’s been decades since the Charleston-born artist first rose to international fame, he will appear at the Gibbes Museum for the first time this month.
“So here we are. By my parents’ estimation, I have now made it,” Fairey said.
Fairey is renowned for his street art, graphic design and activism. His OBEY sticker campaign using wrestler Andre the Giant’s face became a symbol for the counterculture skateboard and street art movement in the 1990s, and his “Hope” portrait of Barack Obama became an iconic image of the 2008 campaign.
Shepard Fairey’s famous “Andre the Giant” stickers can still be seen around town, such as on the sign for the Early Bird Diner in West Ashley on Thursday, Aug. 23, 2018.
On March 20, Fairey will discuss his life and prolific career with Gibbes Museum of Art President and CEO Alex Rich.
Fairey said he hopes the talk will inspire attendees to remain curious about how the world works and what makes art emotionally and intellectually resonant.
“All of those things require your eyes, your mind and your heart to be open,” he said. “That’s the first step, and then just keep going from there.”
Additionally, Fairey said his work is often misinterpreted, so he appreciates having a platform to provide clarification.
“Any opportunity to just answer questions and have a conversation directly is exciting,” he said.
Shepard Fairey (American, b. 1970), MAKE ART NOT WAR, (2005) 2019, Screenprint and mixed media collage on paper, 30 x 41 in. This exhibition was organized by the Landau Traveling Exhibitions, Los Angeles, CA in association with OBEY GIANT ART.
General admission tickets for the talk can be purchased on the museum’s website. Tickets are $20 for students, $30 for museum members and $40 for nonmembers.
Although Fairey now lives in Los Angeles, he has maintained a connection to his hometown. His parents still live in the area, as do many of his friends.
He’s done a handful of shows in Charleston over the years, including ones at the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art in 2002 and 2014.
He said the city’s reception to his work has become more favorable over time. He never expected his work to be something everyone enjoys, but he said it’s encouraging to know there are people in Charleston who are interested in it and in attending the upcoming events.
“To see that there are at least some people who like the work itself and the topics it addresses — that is really great,” he said.
Shepard Fairey at Beeple Studios
While in Charleston, Fairey will also appear at Beeple Studios, the 50,000-square-foot warehouse where Mike Winkelmann, also known as Beeple, creates his surreal and often bizarre digital artwork.
Winkelmann said the studio is meant to be a place where community members can experience art from a variety of mediums and creators and experiment with creativity. His events often include interactive elements.
“Giving people a space where they can express themselves is a big part of what we’re trying to do with these events,” Winkelmann said.
Famed digital artist Beeple and actor Danny McBride of “The Righteous Gemstones” put their minds together to conjure up a theater experience infused with dance, music, comedy, film and artificial intelligence.
Past events at the studio include a collaboration with Danny McBride’s production company, Rough House Pictures, to create Synthetic Theater, a two-day immersive variety show that explored the influence of AI on the arts, and Select Start, which explored the intersection of art and video games.
On March 21, the day after Fairey’s conversation at the Gibbes, Beeple Studios will weave his work into the studio’s digital landscape and make a variety of interactive and multimedia elements available to guests.
The free event required attendees to RSVP on the studio’s website. Only a limited number of spots were available, and they have all been filled.
Fairey said he’s used some video components and animations in his work, but nothing as technologically advanced as what Winkelmann is capable of.
”I think it’s a really amazing synthesis of what I do as an analog artist and what he (Beeple) does as a digital artist,” Fairey said.
He said the word “immersive” is often misused, but when it comes to Beeple Studios, it actually applies.
Mike Winkelmann, known as Beeple, creates digital artwork live during the grand opening of Beeple Studios in Charleston on Saturday, March 11, 2023.
The March 21 event will include digital renderings of Fairey’s work, an exhibition of his physical art, live screen printing, live mural painting, spray-paint and stencil demonstrations and more. Mounted printers will periodically drop prints of Fairey’s work throughout the night.
Winkelmann said he’s looking forward to experimenting with the way Fairey’s art is presented. His large body of work lends itself well to being displayed in the studio’s gallery and experiential space, and the work itself is revered.
“His work is super, super iconic, and he’s obviously sort of like a legend here,” Winkelmann said.
Whether it be at the Gibbes or Beeple Studios, the upcoming events will provide Fairey fans the chance to see the legend in spaces they never have before.
