'Obey Conformity Trance (Red)' by Shepard Fairey

Dimensions: 18 x 24 Inches

Medium: Screenprint on cream Speckletone Paper

Provenance: Signed, numbered and dated by the artist.

Edition: Limited Edition of 350 (#191/350)

Year: 2021

Condition: Excellent

ABOUT THE ART

Conformity: Action in accordance with some specified standard, social custom, or authority.

Trance: A sleep-like state usually characterized by partly suspended, diminished, or absent sensory and motor activity.

"Obey as a pseudo-command in my art has always been a form of reverse psychology. My philosophy is actually "question everything". Conformity is often more unconscious than conscious… an adaptation to structures we may not agree with and a submission to unseen forces of manipulation… unseen because our eyes and minds are not open wide enough.

People come up with conspiracy theories like "the Illuminati" to explain the feelings that they are cogs in someone else's machine, but the deconstruction of power and control requires nothing more than a conscious and diligent examination of how power and influence upon the government accumulate and concentrate under capitalism. Campaign finance reform is a great way to remove the corrupt influence of capitalism from government and make democracy work for an informed populace, which is why a portion of the proceeds from these prints will benefit RepresentUs."


- Shepard

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Frank Shepard Fairey (born February 15, 1970) is an American contemporary graphic designer, and illustrator who emerged from the skateboarding scene. He first became known for his "Andre the Giant Has a Posse" (…OBEY…) sticker campaign, in which he appropriated images from the comedic supermarket tabloid Weekly World News. His work became more widely known in the 2008 U.S. presidential election, specifically his Barack Obama "Hope" poster.

The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston calls him one of today's best known and most influential street artists. His work is included in the collections at The Smithsonian, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.