“To affect the quality of the day is no small achievement”
With a little ingenuity, guts, wheat paste and a whole lot of photocopies, Shepard Fairey began affecting the quality of the day for a lot of people. From his early days of college campus vandalism, to working on a Barack Obama campaign poster and with NASA on a patch for astronauts, Shepard has come a long way.
VIDEO: Shepard Fairey Explains His Patch for International Space Station Mission
Obey The Giant tells the story of a young Shepard during his days at the Rhode Island School Of Design, when he began putting up the original stickers and posters of Andre The Giant that have now become synonymous with Shepard and his brand OBEY.
Directed by Julian Marshall, the short film begins in 1983 with Rhode Island Mayor Buddy Cianci in the heat of an argument that led to his resignation and a 5-year prison sentence. Cut to 1990 and we find a young Shepard facing expulsion because of his Andre The Giant artwork that was popping up all over campus.
VIDEO: Shepard Fairey’s City Changing Art-Piece
Soon, Mayor Cianci and Shepard’s lives cross paths when Shepard’s quest to gain notoriety ends with him plastering the Andre the Giant face over Cianci’s main campaign poster.
Check out how the early life of Shepard Fairey played out by pressing play on the video above.
