Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Art against Dictatorship


A very "underground" post today... I did a little research on the net to find out who could be the author of this amazing collage and I came across the site of an American street artist called Shepard Fairey (aka Obey) who, apparently, held an exhibit in the Magda Danysz gallery (see a little video here) in 2006. He also was featured, with several other artists, in a movie called "Life remote control" (mentioned in the little TV screens on the right on this image). Huh!

26 comments:

  1. Très ironic, an artist expressing himself against dictatorship who is known as "Obey".
    What a contradiction!

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  2. I thought the same thing, Monica!

    The countdown on "Life Remote Control" link is a little scary. What happens when the timer runs out? KA-BOOM?

    The photos link has a very nice slideshow. Very interesting. Thanks, Eric!

    XO

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  3. Very strong antiwar message.
    Anyone who remembers the 60's and 70's will automatically recognize most of the characters.

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  4. No reason to be coy, esp. if you are not American. If interested, look up Angela Davis and Kim Phuc.

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  5. Wow! Where in the 6th did you find this, Eric? Amazing to see this in Paris. Here's a bit more:
    http://obeygiant.com/
    There are a few photographers in Seattle, notably Slightlynorth ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/slightlynorth/ ) that are chronicling this sort of street art. I had no idea it was a world wide phenom. Cool photo for today.
    -Kim
    Seattle Daily Photo

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  6. I love obey...I think he must be San Franciscan because there is SO MUCH of his stuff around here. One just gets used to seeing Andre the Giant peeking at you from a wall or the pavement.

    Cool collage.

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  7. He may have chosen "Obey Giant" quite purposefully, to be ironic.

    It's very sixties, very hippie. It's reminiscent of the hippie art I used to see when visiting the Bay area at that time. That kind of art and graphics was in the underground newspapers and all the rock concert and anti-war posters.

    Buzzgirl, I read he's LA-based, but that doesn't mean he's not San Franciscan. Surely he's got the Haight-Ashbury in him!

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  8. Thanks for introducing me to this artist - I had not heard of him. I know I have said this before, but I am always so impressed to see how respectfull Parisians are of the artwork on their streets. Unfortunately, where I live, the graffiti taggers wouldn't let this last a day.

    On another note, mon dieu, dear Eric! I had no idea just how much shopping there is to be had at the PDP boutique!! I just parted with a small fortune thanks to you! I must say that I almost cried tears of joy when I discovered that I can buy les PDP timbres with U.S. postage! Get over yourself - that is so incredibly awesome!!!

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  9. Eric, I've seen this wall art before but never knew what it was. Your research was great. I think it's just on the other side of the blvd. St. Germain from the church. You actually have to look up to see it.

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  10. Buzzgirl and Petrea, I just read where Shepard Fairey was "Born in Charleston, South Carolina, February 15, 1970". He does live in L.A. though.

    The gallery website also says, "The visual codes used by Shepard Fairey, aka Obey Giant, are worthy of those of Stalinist propaganda, but here they highlight the mechanisms of advertising propaganda which invade public space. Currently based in Los Angeles, Fairey's rising success has helped transform his once homemade Xerox style into lush multi-colored screen prints."

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  11. I'm based in Los Angeles, too, but haven't seen his stuff before Eric showed it to me. Of course I haven't been in an art gallery lately...

    Thank you, Eric! I always learn something from you.

    And from you, too, Michael. You're a good researcher.

    I always learn from the discussions here. What a great community.

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  12. Yes it's very hippy, man. Er... right on. Groovy.

    A powerful artist. Man.

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  13. Interesting. Art against Dictatorship is a good post.

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  14. Eric,
    I like this kind of art and your shoot totally isolates it from the wall and the street. It looks like a painting. I really like it.
    Did you ever took a picture of Miss Tic grafitti? Do you know her?

    (Btw I received your "stop smoking now!" buttons and I love them!! I offered one to my father who stopped smoking 1 month ago and who manages in his challenge. For now.)

    Lynn, LOL you are so groovy yeah.

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  15. Far out, man. Pass the Zig Zags.

    After "Super Tuesday" in the U.S., the theme sort of dovetails. Crrazzy stuff going on this year in the election Odyssey. Support is scattered across the spectrum of candidates. It's weird. And intriguing.

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  16. Great find! Thanks for sharing.

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  17. Amazing how it is kept in the street, Very nice picture!

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  18. Gee this Zazzle shop was a god idea!! (Thanks Michael for insisting I should post some photos there :-)

    Pont girl you did spend way too much money LOL ;)

    Look at Guille, she's been much more reasonable, hasn't she?!

    When I think I met these guys in Zazzle when I was in Silicon Valley, I never thought I'd help them make money ;)

    Anyway, isn't funny that we're all on different continents and several of us (Buzz Girl seems to know his work very well, even), got to see the work of this guy in our own towns.

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  19. All I'm saying is that for anyone who loves Paris (and I think we all do) - there are some amazing products in Eric's Zazzle boutique! PHX-CDG you must go shop there! I know you are la reine des Tours Eiffels - you can get U.S. postage with Tour Eiffels!!! Come on now! Thanks again, Eric - I sure had fun!

    Also, more postcards please!

    And I should have known that Michael had something to do with this idea - bravo kind sir!

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  20. phx-cdg, I think you are right in pointing out Angela Davis in the collage. I'm guessing the other face is Lenny Bruce.

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  21. Pont Girl I agree with you. La Boutique is a real temptation for us isn't it? Last year I bought two mugs with one of Eric's photos, one for me and one for my mom.

    I am crazy about my mug!!! I have my eye on a mousepad now, but it's gonna have to wait a little til I can do some shopping again.

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  22. Guille: Eric did indeed take a photo of Miss Tic's work on June 17, 2007. You can find it in the archive to the left of the page and down. It's under "juin 2007," of course.

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  23. Tall Gary,
    Thanks, I just saw it. I like her, I used to live in the 13th which is her area to do graffiti art and I was always happy to discover new paintings in the bend of a street.

    Eric,
    Il y a juste un problème avec la boutique et Zazzle c'est que j'ai commandé des badges et des cartes et qu'au lieu de tout mettre dans le même colis et de tout envoyer en même temps, ils les mettent dans deux colis différents. Cela ne poserait pas de problème si du coup on ne payait pas deux fois les frais de port...:S
    Mais c'est un détail! J'aime tellement cette carte postale, qu'au diable l'avarice!

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  24. Gosh, I just notice a horrible detail on this picture. We see the little girl running during the Vietnam war, burnt by a napalm explosion, surrounded by Mickey Mouse and Ronald Mc Donald. It makes me feel very uncomfortable.

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  25. I agree with you Guille. Quite a rough commentary on turbulent times.

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  26. oh.... i love paris ! :)

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