In this episode, “Obey” street artist Shepard Fairey talks about Ice Cube pumping him up, the intersection of hip hop and skate culture, and the creation of his alter ego, DJ Diabetic.

In celebration of the band’s 50th anniversary, OBEY founder Shepard Fairey was tapped to re-imagine the group’s iconic logo. He spoke about it with Rolling Stone magazine:

I’ve been a big fan of the Rolling Stones since my dad introduced me to “Satisfaction.” Tattoo You is one of the earliest albums I bought with my own money and I studied the album package obsessively … you may notice how its color scheme and iconic art could have inspired me? The Rolling Stones have had a lot of great art over the decades, but nothing can top their tongue logo, originally created by John Pasche in 1971. In my opinion, the Stones’ tongue logo is the most iconic, potent and enduring logo in rock & roll history. I think the logo not only captures Mick Jagger’s signature lips and tongue, but also the essence of rebellion and sexuality that is the allure of all rock & roll at its finest.

I first worked with Mick Jagger and Dave Stewart on their project SuperHeavy. Mick and Dave were great to work with and I became at ease with our creative rapport despite their stature as musicians. However, when Mick Jagger reached out to me about designing a logo to mark the Rolling Stones’ 50th anniversary I was quite overwhelmed. Mick said he was open to any of my ideas. One of the first things I asked Mick was, “Don’t you think the tongue HAS to be included?” He responded, “Yeah, I guess it ought to be.” Case closed. I was very humbled and honored to be asked to work on the 50th logo, so my objective was to service and showcase the Stones’ legacy rather than try to make my contribution dominant.

I worked on this project as a fan knowing that the Stones’ tongue was the focus and the starting point. With that in mind I set out to integrate the 50 in a creative and memorable way. I think the solution speaks for itself in celebrating the Stones’ trademark icon and historical anniversary. I’d like to thank the Rolling Stones for all their great music that has impacted my life and for allowing me to make a small contribution to their 50th anniversary.

Cheers!

Coachella Conversations premiers with two time festival veteran DJ Z-Trip in conversation with street art legend Shepard Fairey. The two friends and frequent collaborators discuss their shared histories of punk and hip-hop, their historical campaign efforts for Obama, the art of DJing and much more.

Subliminal Projects is pleased to present Printed Matters, a solo exhibition featuring the work of renowned artist Shepard Fairey. Printed Matters, which focuses on the importance of printed material, will be on view September 16th through October 9th, 2010 and incorporates every variety of Shepard’s printed works, works on wood, metal, album covers, and fine art collage papers. As co-owner of Subliminal Projects, along with his wife Amanda Fairey, this is Shepard’s first experience exhibiting at the Echo Park location since the gallery moved in 2008.

Some people say print is on its way out, that it will be wiped out by digital media, but I say you can never replace the provocative, tactile experience of an art print on the street or in a gallery. Printing still matters.”

On November 4th, 2009, a year after the election of Barack Obama, artist Shepard Fairey was at the University of Southern California for a conversation entitled “Art, Culture, Politics.” Fairey lent the Obama campaign his artistic design skills by creating the imagery and layout of the “Hope” and “Progress” posters. This iconographical work, which now resides in the Smithsonian, was a crucial visual vehicle in Barack Obama’s mega-cultural ascendancy.

The conversation at USC travailed swaths of his artistic work and included many of his opinions about the current political moment. Both during the Q+A and at the signing table afterwards, Fairey was open to talking about a whole array of topics including his approach to two-party politics, his take on the Obama Joker poster, and his own questioning of the validity of the 9/11 story. He also graciously and gratefully accepted information from the Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth, and was willing to autograph a glossy of his Andre the Giant “Obey” image, “To the 911 Truth Movement.”

As seen on StrangeFamous.Com:

The new album Li(f)e by hip hop iconoclast Sage Francis is an impassioned and timely critique of cultural hypocrisy and organized religion. The record’s cover art has been created by renowned artist and illustrator Shepard Fairey who first gained notoriety with his “André the Giant” street art and later with his iconic Obama “Hope” poster. For the cover of Li(f)e Fairey has employed his distinctive agitprop style to create a suitably provocative image of an unwavering and winged Francis caught in the crosshairs as flames rise beneath him.

THE MUSIC

Musically Li(f)e is refreshingly unique. Francis’ biting and sardonic wordplay now further empowered by talented musicians including producer Brian Deck (Modest Mouse, Iron and Wine) and Jim Becker and Tim Rutili of acclaimed Chicago outfit Califone.

Francis has also enlisted a roster of uniquely talented songwriters including ex Grandaddy frontman Jason Lytle, Chris Walla of Death Cab for Cutie, Tim Fite, members of Calexico, DeVotchKa, and Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse – each of whose compositions were then interpreted by Francis and the band. The result is a challenging and defiantly honest new album from an ever evolving artist.

THE TOUR

Sage Francis will be performing songs from Li(f)e at the upcoming South By Southwest Festival on THURSDAY March 18 at The Independent, 501 Studios, 501 Brushy Street at 12:30 am.

Francis will then be embarking on a North American tour beginning with B. Dolan and Free Moral Agents starting this May.

Sage Francis Tour Dates:
SXSW @ The Independent on Thursday, March 18 at 12:30 a.m.
Cambridge, MA – Middle East – 5/12/10
Burlington, VT – Higher Ground – 5/13/10
Portland, ME – Port City Music Hall – 5/14/10
Ottawa, ON – Ritual Nightclub – 5/15/10
Toronto, ON – The Opera House – 5/16/10
Detroit, MI – Alvin’s – 5/18/10
Chicago, IL – The Bottom Lounge – 5/19/10
Milwaukee, WI – Turner Hall – 5/20/10
Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue – 5/21/10
Columbia, MO – The Blue Note – 5/22/10
Denver, CO – Gothic Theater – 5/24/10
Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge – 5/25/10
Missoula, MT – Badlander – 5/26/10
Edmonton, AB – The Starlite Room – 5/28/10
Calgary, AB – Distillery – 5/29/10
Vancouver, BC – The Biltmore Cabaret – 5/31/10
Seattle, WA – Showbox SoDo – 6/01/10
Portland, OR – Berbati’s Pan – 6/02/10
San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore – 6/04/10
Santa Cruz, CA – The Catalyst – 6/05/10
Los Angeles, CA – HENRY FONDA THEATRE – 6/06/10
Solana Beach, CA – Belly Up Tavern – 6/07/10
Pomana, CA – The Glass House – 6/09/10
Tempe, AZ – The Clubhouse – 6/10/10
Tucson, AZ – Club Congress – 6/11/10
Albuquerque, NM – Sunshine Theater – 6/12/10
Dallas, TX – Granada Theatre – 6/14/10
Austin, TX – Mohawk – 6/15/10
Houston, TX – House of Blues – 6/16/10
Orlando, FL – Club at Firestone – 6/18/10
Atlanta, GA – The Loft – 6/19/10
Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle – 6/21/10
Washington, DC – Rock and Roll Hotel – 6/22/10
Baltimore, MD – The Ottobar – 6/23/10
Philadelphia, PA – Trocadero – 6/24/10
New York, NY – Webster Hall – 6/25/10

And finally, “Superbeard”…..

By now you know the work of Shepard Fairey, graf-artist-turned-Obama-poster-designer, who truly is best known for his massive OBEY! campaign over the years. His mainstream success contines, as he has been tapped to design a Kobe Bryant poster for 2kSports upcoming “NBA2k10: 10the Anniversary Edition” package. This is not to be confused with the *other* Kobe poster Fairey did for Upper Deck, recently.

The package is a limited edition, more-expensive set that includes the game for either Playstation 3 or XBox 360 consoles, shipping in a numbered 2KSports game locker that will hold up to 20 games, complete with combination lock (meaning it can also be used for drugs, porn). The set also includes a McFarlane Toys action figure of Kobe, plus a behind the scenes DVD detailing a behind the scenes look at the game. The package sells for $99.99. Yeah, I’m going to need one of these.

For more information, check out http://www.2ksports.com/games/nba2k10ae – DJ Pizzo