Pioneering figure of contemporary art, American artist and activist Shepard Fairey is best known for mixing street art with powerful social and political messages. Coming from the skateboard scene, Fairey became known in the 1990s with his “Obey the giant“, featuring an image of French professional wrestler André the Giant and the enigmatic word “Obey”, which quickly became iconic on walls and streets around the world. His work mixes elements of graffiti, propaganda, pop art, Art Nouveau, appropriation and political commentary, often criticizing consumerism, environmental issues and social justice. His 2008 “Hope” poster for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign marked a turning point, transforming a popular street artist into a globally recognized voice for his influence and bold style, to which he recently added the “Forward” poster for Kamala Harris’s election campaign.

Fairey shares a sneak peek of his exhibition “We Are Here,” which runs until January 19, 2025 at Little Palace museum in Paris, whose curator was Mehdi Ben Cheikh, director of the Roaming Galleryand Annick Lemoine, director of the Petit Palais. The collective exhibition of major artists from the street art movement from around the world features an eclectic mix of works that examine themes of identity, resistance and community, challenging traditional museum norms and highlighting value the depth and cultural relevance of urban art within the walls of a historic institution. .

What made you agree to participate in the “We Are Here” exhibition?

Mehdi mentioned the concept to me, and I said I wanted to participate because it’s an incredibly beautiful space and I think a lot of art movements, when they’re new, are rejected by the art establishment, but ultimately whatever cultural connections will end up being adopted. When Impressionism was new, it was considered heresy. There was quite an upheaval over this. It’s the same with abstract expressionism or pop art. Street art and graffiti actually took a lot longer to finally be embraced by the art establishment than a lot of other movements, but I still like the idea of ​​something rebellious finding a way to maintain its energy and also to infiltrate the system. . So I saw that as part of the excitement of this project and also part of a dialogue between the contemporary and the historical. I use every platform possible, including public space, of course, because it has always been important to me and is part of my history, but I also think that galleries and museums are an important way to define which has reached a level of importance. in the art world. I think a lot of graffiti and street art, the people who are part of these movements, are doing strong enough work to fit into a more elitist context, so they deserve to have the opportunity to exhibit in these spaces . And I think if you look at what’s on display at the Petit Palais, it’s the validation of this idea.

Your “Woman Lotus Peace and Justice” is very inspired by Art Nouveau. To what extent did Art Nouveau inspire not only this painting, but all of your work?

Art Nouveau is one of the many movements that I take inspiration from, but of course, looking at the era in which the Petit Palais was built, many of the decorative and architectural elements, it makes sense for me to have my contemporary update of Art Nouveau. influence having a conversation in space with the original Art Nouveau. I think a lot of people may know that the reason I embraced Art Nouveau was because it had a big influence on the anti-Vietnam War movement posters of the late 1960s and on a lot of the psychedelic art that was also linked to this movement, sex, drugs, rock’n’roll and peace, so although I feel like steps were taken out, you can also connect it directly to the source. I think these aesthetic ripple effects, the way they end up manifesting culturally, are really fascinating. My inspiration for adopting Art Nouveau dates back to the Iraq War because I saw it as very analogous to the Vietnam War, a war that should not have happened, in which the United States should not have being involved in the 60s. then another in the early 2000s. It is for this reason that a large part of my work on peace is inspired by Art Nouveau. But I think it holds whether you know that reference or not.

Many of your works are about peace, such as the “Peace Fingers” originally intended for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which you are now making in response to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. Why is it so important for you to address political and social issues?

It’s a driving force in my work because I just want humans to be less brutal to each other. I guess my sense of idealism and justice is constantly looking at the horrible things we do to each other and saying, “OK, how can I convey an aspiration to do better?” » It’s just part of what I think art is capable of. Art is able to connect with the best part of who we are as human beings and stimulate the part of us that recognizes dignity and connection with other humans. So I want, as much as possible, for what I do with my visual arts to do a lot of the things that art has done for me, channeling the best part of our nature, and music does that a lot too. I find a lot of inspiration in music that has social commentary, whether it’s aggressive music like punk rock, hip-hop, things by songwriters like Neil Young or Bob Dylan, reggae by Bob Marley, poetry by Patty Smith. I see all forms of art as an important way to comment on what’s going on, so that’s exactly what I want to do. Not all visual artists feel the same way, but I want to try to solve human problems with my art.