Shepard Fairey - MAKE ART NOT WAR - Signed - Sold

Well-known print by Shepard Fairey on speckletone paper: Make Art Not War. The slogan of many street artists and very topical now. Artist: Shepard Fairey Signed: Yes ro Dimensions: 91 x 61 cm. In very good condition. Never framed.
One of the most influential and best-known street artists, Shepard Fairey is a key figure in the creation and development of modern urban art. He emerged from the skateboard scene and rose to fame in the early 1990s. His street campaigns are broad and productive, with some sparking international cultural movements. As Banksy noted: “When Shepard Fairey comes to your city, every graffiti artist gets tense… I am absolutely certain he has had more outreach [street art interventions] than any graffiti artist in history has ever done or will ever do . And that means he won." A combination of parody, subversion and dissent, Fairey's posters, stickers and murals seek to disrupt the boundaries between traditional and commercial art, questioning ideas of public space and expected behaviour. He has also made his mark as a graphic designer in both political and commercial spheres, with his work used in a number of very high profile campaigns. This print, created during the Iraq War, is an alternate phrase inspired by the popular 1960s anti-war mantra, "Make love, not war." In this case, Fairey argues that there is a need for creative rather than destructive acts. The Art Nouveau style of the image is an additional reference to Art Nouveau's influence on hippie and psychedelic art of the 1960s, including many Vietnam War posters.
Surrounded by a wreath of flowers, the female figure appears more confident and real than ethereal. The placement of two brushes beneath her portrait not only alludes to a classical tool of art production, but also resembles spears, which, when read alongside the command to “OBEY” that appears on her neck, simultaneously sharpens the otherwise palatable message. 36 x 24 inches. Offset lithography on cream Speckle Tone paper. Signed by Shepard Fairey. 24x36 inches. Offset lithography on thick cream Speckle Tone paper. Signed by Shepard Fairey. Open edition (not numbered)