TMZ shot some video footage of Shepard Fairey at LAX along with Shepard's wife, Amanda. When asked if Shepard himself ever gets on the streets to put pasters up, Amanda replies 'Not in a long time'.
Shep is clearly perturbed by what she says. TMZ tries to frame it like she is ruining Obey's street cred, but it seems like Shep might just be bothered that she is talking to TMZ at all. This is one of the few times that Shep has looked flustered in an interview and he tells her 'Jesus! Please. . . . I'm not stupid!'
At the root this is just TMZ celebrity nonsense. But what is so interesting to the street art community, and the reason we picked up this story, is that typically celebrities are the ones who are buying the street artist's art. Sure, everyone who is familiar with street art knows who Shepard Fairey is. But most people in the mainstream don't. And this story on TMZ shows that street artists are not just supported by celebrities, they are becoming celebrities.
You can watch the video HERE.
I think it's kind of nice to see people tripping up like this on camera. She was not asked the question. He was asked. She decided to answer. That is always a very risky proposition, inside or outside of a marriage. I get into little spats like this all the time. It's embarrassing to suddenly have your significant other make a snide comment about you in public.
ReplyDeleteAnd quite frankly I see absolutely no reason why Mr. Fairey should glue his own art to walls. Who would want to do that job? Paying somebody to do it is the rational choice. Hell, most artists don't frame their own work. They go to a frame shop.
I like these two. I think they're doing just fine and I look forward to their next stumble in front of the press!
Oh wait till they find out Banksy doesn't go out at night a do his own stencils either!!
ReplyDeleteThey'll be heart broken!!
As far as I know, Shep was still on probation around the time of the Oscars so I think he was laying low and having his crew put up either all or most of the recent stuff. My guess is that Amanda was just trying not to incriminate him on camera and he got annoyed as he knew that it would make him look like a sell out to people out of context. I think the "I'm not stupid" was basically him saying: "Please don't speak for me, I'm not gonna get myself in trouble again" or something to that effect.
ReplyDeleteI know he doesn't do all of his own stuff but I'd like to believe he still does some of it. It's crazy to think that things like success stopped him from getting up faster than getting arrested 13 times.
Maybe I'm giving him too much credit but since the source is TMZ- and clearly edited- I think we should give him the benefit of the doubt.
I think it's a shame if he doesn't put up his own stuff Alessandro because the application is a big part of the expression. That's one of the things that separates street art from advertising. I don't think he should have to do every single one of them but to know he just sits back and pays someone to do his illegal dirty work makes me feel like he's reaping the benefit of street art without taking any risk.
ReplyDeleteIt would be like finding out that your favorite band lip syncs.
I feel the same about Banksy (who obviously doesn't do ALL of his own stuff, but hopefully at least some).
He already paid his dues, if celebs are buying his art he's already mainstream. He did a poster for the president for pete sake how much more mainstream do you need to get? With his status level elevated like that street cred is a thing of the past. Not that it's bad, it's just that he's on a different playing field now than the average street artist.
ReplyDeleteI must say that I do not even remotely associate Shepard Fairey with street art. I just bought a signed print from him and it is most certainly not on the street. It's in my house.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I could find many artists earning good money for their work who would put up for very long with risking their freedom to stick some glue on a wall. It just doesn't make the slightest bit of sense. I'm sure Mrs. Fairey would agree with me. And certainly we wouldn't want an old Shepard Fairey trying to climb buildings. At some point an artist has to get more interested in pictures than streets.
By the way, I would point out that in art there is no such thing as paying dues. Such a belief in 'payment of dues' is in fact a deeply conservative view.
Why can't he have both? If a band gets huge that doesn't mean that they can't still have a few secret small shows. I think that as soon as an artist forgets their roots completely they start to lose what gave them the perspective that made them special.
ReplyDeleteAlessandro, you make some valid points. If he doesnt want to continue risking incarceration, then he just needs to retire that part of his life and only stick to gallery art. There are plenty of other wheat pasters out there still putting in work, wheat paste will hardly feel his absence. Thats why I like Revok so much. The man doesnt need to keep making those risks anymore, but he refuses to give up the vandalism aspect of it because he knows it wouldnt be right otherwise.
ReplyDeleteThat was a funny little TMZ clip. That one chick going off about how Shep gave his wife attitude all while she's texting on her phone.
ReplyDeleteAs for Shep not doing the street art labor work. Hey the man at least makes new prints for street art and getting the "OBEY" name out there and just pays some people to put it up for him...
"I got money biatch! honk honk!" -Dave Chappelle
Alessandro...I don't know what to tell ya. People "pay their dues" meaning they work hard to get where they're at. If you think that's a conservative view...tell daddy you want a new benz it's almost 2012! Keep supporting street art (whether you know it or not).
Just out of curiosity, I'm going to pound on the 'pay their dues' subject a little bit more. This idea that people work hard to get where they're at and if another idea comes into conflict with that, then it must be some spoiled person who gets things handed to them. This is an odd point of view that seems slightly too pronounced for my taste in the 'street art' world.
ReplyDeleteI'm not one to register much difference between 'street art' and regular old art. It's art. There's no such thing as 'street art' really. Art is art is art.
But I really don't have any obligations as an artist. I don't have to put any measurable level of hard work into anything at all. There are no requirements or 'dues' to pay. If I flip something off in 5 minutes and sell it for six figures, then that's my own good fortune. I don't owe dues to anyone. A hardworking poet might write for weeks and produce a pile of crap. He's paid his dues and written junk. Meanwhile, the jerk with the Mercedes and the trust fund writes something in half a day that's truly profound. Hard work only has a value insofar as it gets a particular job done.
I think that the 'street art' world might do well to reflect on how certain rigid ideas get into place and become ingrained.