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Obey Your Senses
I remember spotting an “Obey Giant” sticker under the old Grace Bridge when I first moved here in 2000 and thinking, “Wow, that guy gets around.”
For years, I had seen the cool modern-day Kilroy graphic pasted on street signs and utility boxes around Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Long Beach, and San Francisco and relegated it to “a California thing.” Little did I know that “Andre the Giant Has a Posse” was a global phenomena created by Shepard Fairey, a native son of my newly adopted city.
As time passed and I learned about Charleston and its residents, more and more people mentioned Shepard (a RISD grad now living and working in L.A.) and always suggested him as a profile for the magazine. I did some research and found him and his work intriguing but hadn’t figured out the correct timing or the context, as there are so many artists doing great work here.
And then last spring, Fairey’s career hit what Malcolm Gladwell dubbed a “tipping point” with his Obama Hope portrait, which the campaign astutely adopted as its central image. Within a year, Fairey was commissioned to illustrate covers for TIME and Esquire magazines; he released a second addition of his monograph Supply & Demand: The Art of Shepard Fairey; the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston opened a retrospective of his work; and Obama Hope was installed into the National Portrait Gallery, not to mention the Associated Press lawsuit.
Considering his schedule, I’m thrilled that Fairey accepted our request to feature him in this Arts issue. In “Shepard Fairey Has a Posse”, contributing editor Stephanie Hunt profiles the artist whose iconic images appear on public street corners as well as within public institutions—artwork that taps into the collective consciousness and instigates debate by playing with our perceptions and, in his words, “questioning everything.”
After Fairey’s retrospective at ICA/Boston closes in August, the show will travel to the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh (October 2009-February 2010).
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if it made a homecoming to Charleston as well?
Check back regularly as I will be posting random snapshots of “public art” in Charleston and asking guest bloggers to discuss street art, vandalism, and the ownership of public spaces. Please make a comment and join the conversation.
Comments
re; Public art, check out the current new art concept in place now on King Street, W.A.L.K. Gallery! Brightening the city streets in time for Spoleto the WALK Gallery talented planning group put together this new project in little over two months. Empty storefronts that dot the area from Lower to Upper King were approached to offer their space to display the work of fifteen juried emerging artists.
Talent representing all aspects of the Charleston creative arts community moved this project forward and with great success. Thanks to Andrea Schenk and Rena Lasch for leading the WALK project.
Check it out, it has only just begun.
Any increase in vandalism and graffiti on both public and private spaces reveals an urban population that has begun to lose faith in its viability. Empty store windows on King Street appear to reflect empty lives of many who pass by. These glass surfaces and other artifacts of the cityscape become the canvases of those who wield their spray cans to show their anger and dismay. Their ‘art’ only attracts more competitors to this genre.
Our surroundings impact us all. If they are vital and contain elements of beauty, we are nourished. But city dwellers must be willing to take an active role in maintaining their environment if they are to find a modicum of pleasure in their urban lives.
The work of WALK Gallery, a new organization dedicated to filling empty store windows with the work of artists provides a useful model. We would hope that all of our empty store windows will soon be the showcases for works of creative spirit rather than frames for meaningless symbols of desperation.
For those of you who missed it, the WALK (Window Art Local Knowledge) Gallery's inaugural exhibition of local artists work in King Street’s unoccupied storefronts last Thursday marked the start of a bold and innovative new public art initiative. WALK's goal is to feature the paintings, sculptures, and photographs of local artists in the empty front windows of retail spaces currently for sale or rent, the number of which has drastically increased since the downturn of the economy. Making these vacant spaces more aesthetically appealing is a win/win situation for everyone involved, from Charleston's retail community to the artists whose work is featured - not to mention the general public, which now has ample evidence of the talent and creativity that lives, breathes, and beautifies every facet of our amazing city. For more information, and to get involved, please visit www.walkgallery.org.
In response to your comment in the May 2009 “Editor’s Letter” about the desire to see the Shepard Fairey retrospective in Charleston, I wanted to let you and your readers know that the staff at the Gibbes Museum of Art concurs. To that end, we have reached out to ICA/Boston, the organizers of the retrospective, and have inquired about whether the exhibition can be scaled to accommodate a smaller museum like the Gibbes. We are in discussions to determine whether it might be possible for us to display the exhibition or components of the exhibition. We completely agree that Fairey is an important artist whose work should be celebrated in his hometown. Thank you for your ongoing efforts to showcase the talents of Charleston’s artists and arts community.
Marla Loftus
Director of Communications
Gibbes Museum of Art
I'm troubled that your article focuses on the "coolness" and "edginess" of street art. Charleston is experiencing an explosion of grafitti that demeans its public spaces. One only needs to walk down Meeting or King to see
the scribblings of some self-styled "artiste" on stop signs, news boxes, and, sadly, building walls. Charleston Magazine would do the city a service by writing about this new vandalism, and not the small minority that thinks this is art. It is simply the destruction of property and debasing of Charleston's beauty.
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