Reminisce Providence

In 1993 I was working late night at Kinko’s on some Obey Giant materials when I noticed a guy xeroxing a zine called KILL ROCCO, as in Steve Rocco, the founder of World Industries who many credit with taking the skateboard industry in a negative direction. I told the guy, who introduced himself as John Freeborn, that I had a mini-ramp in my studio and he was welcome to come ride it. He took me up on my offer and totally slayed it on my ramp. We became friends and I sorta sponsored him by giving him t-shirts and stickers. I also put him in my skate and propaganda video “Attention Deficiency Disorder” (which I still have a few VHS copies left of). He started his own skateboard and t-shirt company called GOOD AND EVIL and was kind enough to include a small part for me in his GOOD AND EVIL video in 1995 or so. I’m in section one of the video. The footage of me is on my mini-ramp in my studio in Providence. Notice that in my first run I’m on a normal skateboard, and my second run is on a dinky 70’s toy board. I had more goof off time in 1995. Also, artist Jim Houser is in the video. He actually started drawing and painting seriously while working for me in Providence. John Freeborn went on to co-found Space 1026 in Philadelphia.

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=johnfreeborn

-Shepard

Sorna

(Bueno Aires, Argentina) Las cosas que pasan por la cabeza del gigante Noviembre 1999
Por Carlo Marnitinni
Muchas, pero muchas calcomanías es lo que pensó hacer en un principio. Con una imprenta que tiene elementos del graffiti, algo de collage prolijamente diseñado y un poco de la provocación situacionista llena de intenciones comerciales (que vacían todo su contenido combativo), llegaron después las ideas de Stephen Fairey y su Obey Giant. Interesante. Todos nos quejamos de él, pero heme aquí escribiendo una nota sobre el gigante. André -así se llama a quien debemos obedecer- quiere aparecer en todos lados tal como lo hizo el big brother orwelliano. En parte lo logró. Su página obey giant recibe miles de visitas, sus stickers inundan las ciudades del primer mundo y Fairey ya consiguió que clientes de la talla de Airwalk paguen por sus servicios. Para más información: https://obeygiant.com

East of Touch

Hong Kong, 298, February 13, 2001

OBEY GIANT 2001
Shepard thinks HK is a great place, peolpe are nice here, and the food is wonderful. after the exibition with Stash, Shepard will fly to Japan. He will check out the Levi’s sample first after he arrives Japan coz he will be having a crossover, like Futura, with levi’s. it will soon available in japan only. Shepard, together with Dept, will open Obey store in July.

New Monday Hong Kong

New Monday Hong Kong, February 16, 2001

New Monday Hong Kong
SHEPARD FAIREY PROFILE
Shepard Fairey, 31, loves the 7inch 4 feet, weight 520 lbs, famous wrestler Andrew the giant. he started posting his Giant’s posters out in the streets since 1989.Shepard’s style is similar to the USSR propaganda, very pop art.He has his own brand and after futura, he designs Levi’s posters.

Morning Call

#70 March 11, 2001
A month ago during a car trip to downtown Allentown, I noticed there were these ugly sticker covering a lot of poles and stop signs. Now recently I have seen this graffiti at local convenient stores with the large words “obey.” It seems like something of a gang symbol. Have you encountered these stickers and what is our township doing to have this trash removed from the street?

H. Mench

Ironically, up until two weeks ago, I had never come in contact with such a thing. But on my Saturday jog, I saw two high school kids placing them on a stop sign. Well, when I saw them, they must have thought I was with the local authority and quickly scurried away. The sticker, which also said boldly “OBEY” appeared to be a sticker of legendary wrestler, obey giant. My only conclusion is it’s probably some local rock band spreading the word. As for the township doing it’s part we have taken a some steps in controlling graffiti in our town and the police department is doing it’s part in stopping vandals from covering our street signs and walls. Thank you for your concern.

Gear Magazine

November / December 2000
The hottest people places and things on the planet
Known for its colorful posters which evoke propaganda and art, nostalgia and futurism, Obey/Giant is the brainchild of Shepard Fairey, president of San Diego’s BLK/MRKT Design who launched his career by printing caricatures of the late wrestler Andre the Giant on stickers. The company’s bold graphic posters (available from www.obeygiant.com) incorporate iconography like planes, workers and soldiers, showing how society is motivated and influenced by symbols. (they also designed the Gear 100 opening spread)

Bold magazine

Gen-Next Art Collecting January 2001
By Jon Alain Guzik
You’re not a dot-com millionaire or big Hollywood star, you may not even be an up-and-coming media mogul – those cats collect the things you can’t afford anyway. My ear to the street says their tastes are veddy, veddy expensive. Christina Ricci dropped $16K on works by local painter Bill Shortridge and photographer Robbie Caponetto at a recent Los Angeles benefit. This is not you and it is not me. So what are Gen-X art folk collecting? Art lovers, especially local gallery owners, can’t seem to resist the playfully ironic pictures of subjects ranging from childhood antics to modern-day romance by the husband-and-wife team of Scott and Denise Davis, known as Davis & Davis (davisanddavis.org). “People who buy our work are pretty young,” says Denise. “When I ask them what they do, they’re usually stylists, photographers and artists.” And with price tags ranging from $200 to $1,000, even we semi-pauper (er, um, cheap) folks can afford them. Check out Davis & Davis in a group show this month at Holly Matter (www.hollymatter.com) called “Under the Queen Size Bed.” Someone I like who has a celeb following is musician, artist and all-around weirdo Daniel Johnston. As his music fan base continues to grow, so has the regard for this manic-depressive’s felt-tip drawn creatures and superheroes. One of his notable collectors is Simpsons creator Matt Groening, who owns a number of Johnston’s drawings and shares his love for comic books. Loyal fans packed Johnston’s one-night-only show at Zero One Gallery on Melrose last year, where his childlike art was presented alongside painter Ron English’s grand interpretations of selected Johnston cartoons. Johnston’s usual cult following of indie rockers (Kurt Cobain donned his T-shirt, Beck and Yo La Tengo cover his songs), geek-chic hipsters and leather-clad characters were present lining up to buy The Definitive Daniel Johnston Handbook (Soft Skull Press, 2000), and a chance to see the man himself. I was there, were you? So enough with all the starfucking. Chances are you’re not a celebrity (yet) and, like myself, you don’t get art for free, unless of course you’ve pulled the ol’ “Nazis during the war trick” and stolen your priceless works of art. Perhaps you were lucky enough to snatch one of Shepard Fairey’s ever-popular Andre the Giant posters or stickers (www.andrethegiant.com), or successfully rip a poster off a city surface by local favorite Robbie Conal (www.robbieconal.com), without spending a dime. Although the notoriety of these two artists, in part, is due to the fact that Gen-Xers from all over roam the streets to “collect” their work – artists can’t make a living off your kleptomania. If you want to collect art, buy what you love, let some artists pay their bills, and don’t follow any celebrity trends, because unlike celebrity, art lasts. * Jon Alain Guzik is a writer, journalist, digital artist and owner of pawn Shop Media, a Los Angeles-based production company.