Does Shepard Fairey Matter?

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JErikR
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Does Shepard Fairey Matter?

Post by JErikR »

I got to thinking, we all as fanboys/girls, can't get enough of Shepard and his artwork. But in the larger sense, I thought it might be worthwhile to do a pulse check on what everyone thinks about Shepard on the global scale these days and the continued impact of his work overall? It seems much of the urban art headlines of course go to Banksy. So, does Shepard matter? If so, why or why not?
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Re: Does Shepard Fairey Matter?

Post by Molotov Man »

JErikR wrote:I got to thinking, we all as fanboys/girls, can't get enough of Shepard and his artwork. But in the larger sense, I thought it might be worthwhile to do a pulse check on what everyone thinks about Shepard on the global scale these days and the continued impact of his work overall? It seems much of the urban art headlines of course go to Banksy. So, does Shepard matter? If so, why or why not?
No question and it' a joke if someone tries to argue that Shep will be forgotten in 50 years (hence doesn't "matter").

I challenge anyone to come up with 1 solid argument as to why Shepard won't be if not #1, #2 most important urban artist of all time.
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Re: Does Shepard Fairey Matter?

Post by HRE »

I do think that he and Banksy will be in the history books, but I do feel that he does churn out far to much which I feel will affect his overall prices
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Re: Does Shepard Fairey Matter?

Post by Jessica Ravelo »

Banksy don't even show his face. :?
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Re: Does Shepard Fairey Matter?

Post by jjttdw »

HRE wrote:I do think that he and Banksy will be in the history books, but I do feel that he does churn out far to much which I feel will affect his overall prices
Yeah, the right images in the right media will do just fine. The Writings on the Wall will never be worth much because it is jus a bad image.
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Re: Does Shepard Fairey Matter?

Post by DunDun »

Well he has a portrait of the first black President in that's permanently hanging in the Smithsonian. I think that says it all.
conartstudio wrote:the majority here enjoy art, the majority on EB enjoy profiting off of art. people become ruthless when money is involved.
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Re: Does Shepard Fairey Matter?

Post by Mira263 »

DunDun wrote:Well he has a portrait of the first black President in that's permanently hanging in the Smithsonian. I think that says it all.

Yep, this ^^^

Basically the exact same discussion as last week. Shepard will be remembered as one of the most influential artist of our generation.
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Re: Does Shepard Fairey Matter?

Post by ideabolo »

1000%
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JErikR
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Re: Does Shepard Fairey Matter?

Post by JErikR »

Mira263 wrote:
DunDun wrote:Well he has a portrait of the first black President in that's permanently hanging in the Smithsonian. I think that says it all.

Yep, this ^^^

Basically the exact same discussion as last week. Shepard will be remembered as one of the most influential artist of our generation.
Great comments. But per above, was there a thread on this that I may have missed or was it a discussion over beers at a local watering hole?
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Re: Does Shepard Fairey Matter?

Post by Mira263 »

http://forum.thegiant.org/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=29766

It pretty much evolved into the same thing discussed here.
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Re: Does Shepard Fairey Matter?

Post by Obeybro »

I think that its pretty much a given that Banksy and Shepard will go down in the history books as they are the two major pioneers of the movement. In my opinion they are directly comparable to Warhol and Lichtenstein. I was chatting with a gallery owner this weekend who sells a bunch of Warhol and the similarities between him and Shepard are immense (both neglected initially, prints were treated as cheap posters, ect). Whether the 3rd rung of urban artists (D*face, Faile, Invader, ect) maintain cultural relevance and aftermarket demand remains to be seen.

As far as market prices go, I think its a fair bet that any Banksy and to a lesser extent Shepard, will continue to rise in value. Although Shepard does churn out an incredible amount of artwork, he considers himself a populist artist much like Warhol did. When you look at the sheer amount of Warhol factory prints created over the course of his career it resembles Shepard's output (admittedly with lower editions and a shorter career). Obviously, the more pieces on the market will always drive down price. However, one thing that isn't usually considered is that a large amount of prints on the market create an lower price point, and hence an incentive for people to get into collecting that artist. I only got into Shepard's art a couple of years ago, but it was really easy to start collecting because there were prints that I could afford. This brings in new collectors and simultaneously creates a more robust aftermarket.
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Re: Does Shepard Fairey Matter?

Post by Mira263 »

Obeybro wrote:I think that its pretty much a given that Banksy and Shepard will go down in the history books as they are the two major pioneers of the movement. In my opinion they are directly comparable to Warhol and Lichtenstein. I was chatting with a gallery owner this weekend who sells a bunch of Warhol and the similarities between him and Shepard are immense (both neglected initially, prints were treated as cheap posters, ect). Whether the 3rd rung of urban artists (D*face, Faile, Invader, ect) maintain cultural relevance and aftermarket demand remains to be seen.

As far as market prices go, I think its a fair bet that any Banksy and to a lesser extent Shepard, will continue to rise in value. Although Shepard does churn out an incredible amount of artwork, he considers himself a populist artist much like Warhol did. When you look at the sheer amount of Warhol factory prints created over the course of his career it resembles Shepard's output (admittedly with lower editions and a shorter career). Obviously, the more pieces on the market will always drive down price. However, one thing that isn't usually considered is that a large amount of prints on the market create an lower price point, and hence an incentive for people to get into collecting that artist. I only got into Shepard's art a couple of years ago, but it was really easy to start collecting because there were prints that I could afford. This brings in new collectors and simultaneously creates a more robust aftermarket.
I think your right on the money. There are lots of big name artist who did prints for fans of their work at cheaper price points. Even today one could pick up a Dali print for quite cheap in comparison to say an oil painting worth millions. (Side note...if anyone were to want a Dali print I know a seller lol )
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