Shepard Fairey has created a limited edition box set with screen prints of each of his 50 new album cover designs inspired by the 12-inch record cover format. The 50 Shades of Black box set is the largest number of images to date and is a work of art itself! Each box set is a limited edition of 200 and includes 50 signed and numbered screen prints of all new album cover designs, as well as an album cover stencil, an LP sticker sheet, and a certificate of authenticity. The box is hand made and features the Sound and Vision LP graphic on the cover presented in gold foil stamping with embossed highlighting throughout.

The box sets will be available on the OBEY website on Thursday, April 24; Two releases are scheduled for 10 am and 3pm PST.

50 Shades of Black Box Set
Edition of 200
Signed and Numbered
Box – 13 x13 x 2 inches
Print editions – 12 x 12 inches
2014
$1,100

Music has taught me a great deal about connecting with a broad audience. Music is universal. I’ve had some very moving encounters with art in my life, especially in the street, but almost nothing can compare to the first time I heard the boots marching and first chord of the Sex Pistols’ “Holidays in the Sun”, or the air raid sirens leading into “too black, too strong” on the intro to Public Enemy’s It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, or the opening guitar scream of Black Flag’s “Rise Above.” Music is visceral, but also has the additional powerful layers of the lyrics, with their content and politics, and then there’s also the style and personalities of the musicians themselves. Compelling album covers have always been a great complement to great music. There’s something subversive about bundling seductive visuals with provocative ideas, or provocative visuals with seductive ideas. An audience that’s looking for escape doesn’t expect a confrontation and a call to action, but I believe the best music, and the best art, can deliver both. Call the approach hi-brow/lo-fi or lo-brow/hi-fi, but I try to use it in my artwork to capture the same energy and spirit that makes music so powerful.
– Shepard Fairey