If you're in the LA area we'll be down at the Connected Fashion Festival peddling some goods. That's right, it's an old fashioned sample sale. Hope to see you there.
Connected Fashion Festival
Saturday, September 15 at 11:00am
850 S. Hope St Los Angeles CA 90014
StolenSpace Gallery Presents
SOUND & VISION
Artwork by Shepard Fairey
Opening 10/19/2012
10.19.12 – 11.04.12
STOLENSPACE GALLERY
The Old Truman Brewery
Dray Walk
91 Brick Lane
London E1 6QL
United Kingdom
stolenspace.com
Sound and Vision takes its name from the David Bowie song and “the gift of sound and vision” that he embodies. Bowie is one of my favorite musicians, and has crafted his music and visual presentation with equal brilliance. Music has long been an inspiration for me as a democratic medium that can bring joy but also deliver provocative and compelling social commentary. Sound and Vision not only captures the profound effect that my favorite music has had on me and my work, but even more broadly it represents the accessible and infectious nature of music as we all experience it.
Music has taught me far more than art has about connecting with an audience. I’ve often thought “I can’t get this song out of my head,” but rarely thought “I can’t get this painting out of my head.” I’ve had some very moving encounters with art in my life, especially in the street, but almost nothing can compare to the first time I heard the boots marching and first chord of the Sex Pistols’ Holidays in the Sun, or the air raid sirens leading into “too black, too strong” on the intro to Public Enemy’s It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, or the opening guitar scream of Black Flag’s Rise Above. Those songs did, and still do, make my arm hairs stand up. Music is visceral, but also has the additional powerful layers of the lyrics, with their content and politics, and the style, politics, and personalities of the musicians themselves. No matter how much I love art, or try to convince myself of its relevance in society, the fact remains that music is a lot cooler and much more able to reach people’s hearts and minds. There’s something subversive about bundling seductive visuals with provocative ideas, or provocative visuals with seductive ideas. An audience that approaches a work of art or music for the sake of enjoyment doesn’t expect intellectual engagement, and vice versa. An audience that’s looking for escape doesn’t expect a confrontation and a call to action, but I believe the best music, and the best art, delivers both. Call the approach hi-brow/lo-fi or lo-brow/hi-fi, but I try to use it in my work to capture the same energy and spirit that makes music so powerful.
The Sound and Vision art show includes mixed media works on canvas weaving my social commentary with inspiration from a range of musicians, including the Sex Pistols, David Bowie, Roxy Music, Gang of Four, the Clash, the Circle Jerks, Kraftwerk, Public Enemy, Neil Young, and Metallica. Sound and Vision will also include an installation of a record store environment, with customized vintage turntables and a portion of my own record collection for public listening. The record store space will also showcase over 80 12″x12″ images I’ve created as tributes to the 12″ LP sleeve. A comprehensive variety of other works will be featured, including screen prints on wood, metal, and paper; rubylith cuts; and retired stencils.
- Shepard
There is a great new video up in the Propaganda section on the underground Pins and Needles pinball space in LA. Molly Atkinson gives us an inside look at her collection of pinball machines located within a giant band practice warehouse in Echo Park, California. Pins & Needles has 36 machines from the late 70s / early 80s. Molly talks about her experience with the space, from starting a pinball league to learning how to fix the machines. She has a great attitude and we think she's hilarious. Check it out!
PINS & NEEDLES from OBEY CLOTHING on Vimeo.
As you might know, we worked with shoe company Generic Surplus on another collection of shoes this time for Fall. The latest footwear collaboration connects street and civility artfully outfitting the creative class with five new styles. Both brands look to this community and those making a declaration of independence for inspiration. Disciplines, a short film set in Los Angeles, celebrates the spirit and vision of director, photographer and bassist for the Dum Dum Girls, Malia James, DJ/produder, Gaslamp Killer and artist/skateboarder, Gareth Stehr. These stories are but a few woven into the fabric of the Generic Surplus and Obey cultures whose wearers embrace the journey it takes to turn their passion into a profession.
Generic Surplus and Obey Present 'Disciplines', A Short Film from OBEY CLOTHING on Vimeo.
Once again we have a new feature up in the Propaganda section. This week we feature an article on street artist Alice Pasquini.
"The first word that comes to mind when looking at Alice Pasquini's work is 'big.' It's bright and rich and full of colors, and seems to take up the entirety of a space. Most of her subjects are women—sleeping, reading, smoking, staring back at the viewer, drinking coffee, captured in everyday moments using a mix of acrylics and marker..."
Click HERE or the image below to read more.
The painting's Shepard did for Neil Young's new record will be available to see at a public reception starting this Saturday. Don't miss this!
AMERICANA
New Paintings by Shepard Fairey
Public Reception
Perry Rubenstein Gallery (LA) presents a special project by Shepard Fairey and Neil Young in celebration of the recent release of Young’s new album with Crazy Horse, “Americana,” which features reinterpreted classic, American, folk songs. Fairey has created eleven new paintings, each one inspired by the songs, such as Oh Susannah, This Land Is Your Land and Clementine. The new Shepard Fairey paintings will be on view to the public at Perry Rubenstein Gallery in Los Angeles starting August 25th. In addition, Shepard will have a limited quantity release of the Americana Print Edition Box Set at the opening on August 25th at Perry Rubenstein Gallery. The Box Set will include a collection of screen print versions of all the new paintings, more info and official release date on the prints to come shortly, so STAY TUNED!
The “Americana” project developed as a result of Shepard Fairey’s relationship with Neil Young and his long-time manager Elliot Roberts. Fairey created a portrait of Young for the artist’s May Day show in 2010, based on his view of the musician as a social commentator philosophically aligned with people like Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, and Joe Strummer. Young and Roberts then asked Fairey to design the art, CD and DVD packaging for the 25th anniversary of Young’s Bridge School charity. Fairey states, “Neil really liked the art and I was thrilled he asked me to collaborate by making paintings inspired by the songs on his “Americana” album. I’m a huge fan of Neil’s music in general, but when I heard the album I realized how much the subject matter of several songs reflected the aspirations and tragedies of those pursuing the American dream tied into issues relevant to the 99% movement which I have been supporting.”
Fairey says he listened to the music and lyrics to come up with concepts for visual representations of the songs. Then for each song, Fairey presented Young with ideas about a visual image that would best capture the meaning and/or protagonist/s in each song. The artist enjoyed hearing how Neil interpreted aspects of the songs that moved him the most musically and lyrically. Fairey states, “I showed Neil sketches, and then we discussed the ideas and refined them. He was very open to my ideas and encouraged me to go with what inspired me the most. Latitude for interpretation is something that Neil utilizes and seems to value as an important way for the listener/viewer to personalize their interaction with art and music. I also was excited about this project because the concept of re-interpreting pre-existing songs filtered through Neil’s unique sensibility parallels what I have often tried to do as a visual artist by building upon iconic images that are an accessible part of the cultural dialogue.”
Each of the new Fairey paintings resonate powerful messages presented in the songs, some depicting a hopeful outlook on the pursuit of a better tomorrow, while others reflect the hardships that come in trying to achieve that dream. One painting related to Clementine, which captures the words of a mourning lover whose “darling,” the daughter of a California Gold Rush miner, drowned. Here she is represented by the levitating body of a young woman draped in white, with the text “And Gone.” Another painting is related to the 1848 minstrel song Oh Susannah that features a dungaree-wearing banjo player with the text “DON’T YOU CRY FOR ME.” Other works feature a wanted poster (Travel On); an iconic image of Queen Elizabeth embroidering an American flag (God Save the Queen); and, a lonely tree, stripped bare of its leaves, in a desolate landscape (Tom Dula).
For Young and Crazy Horse’s rendition of the famous 1940 Woody Guthrie song known to every school-aged child in America, This Land Is Your Land, written in response to Irving Berlin’s God Bless America, Fairey has depicted the hopeful face of a youth, set against a dramatic Western Landscape. Three rows of sharp, barbed wire cross the boy’s path with the text “NO TRESSPASSING / THIS LAND IS MY LAND.” The text is derived from a variant verse Guthrie added as a social commentary during a 1944 recording session. Fairey’s paintings are mixed media on canvas, including techniques such as stenciling, collage, and screen-printing. All of the paintings measure closely to the 30 x 44 inch dimension, which is one of Fairey’s standard choices of size. “Americana” is Neil Young with Crazy Horse’s first album together in nine years and is being released on June 5 on Reprise Records.
Our good friend and all around good dude Steve Harrington has a solo show at Known Gallery in Los Angeles this weekend. If you're in the area we highly suggest you stop by. I'll be there so come say hello, I'll be the guy in the pink Speedo and mesh tank top.
Steve Harrington
INSIDE OUT
Known Gallery
441 North Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles, CA
Opening Reception Aug 18 8pm - 11pm
http://www.facebook.com/events/327902603967219/
We are getting ready to release a collaboration with the Keith Haring Foundation. The collaboration started when OBEY had the privilege of looking through the Haring archives. They were able to draw inspiration in addition to select images of iconic and lesser-known Haring works. The purpose was to blend past and present, to bring to light Haring’s work to a new audience as well as satisfy existing fans with product designed with a new perspective. The men’s collection looked at items that would have been available to The Pop Shop, Haring’s store in the 1980’s. OBEY men’s designer, Mike Ternosky, considered the manufacturing methods Haring would have had available at the time for The Pop Shop as well as styles that would translate well today. The designers also wanted to bring authenticity, going as far as using printing techniques to emulate some of the chalk drawings Haring was known for in the subways of New York. The women’s collection drew inspiration from The Pop Shop also. Vintage-feeling fabrics were washed down for an old, faded, worn-in look, and the military BDU jacket was made in a silhouette similar to one Keith wore while painting. To round the collection off, also included is Shepard’s illustration of Haring based on the iconic photo by Patrick McMullan.
"Everybody gotta wear clothes, if you don't you get arrested." Solid words indeed by Mr. T.
Well, we like to offer you a sweet online deal when we can, especially for those of you who can't make the Sample Sale. This saves you money and you have clothes to wear so you shouldn't be getting arrested. Right now, while supplies last, we are offering our Grab Bags. These are 3 shirts packed in a custom parts bag for the nominal fee of only $35. Git on over to the store and grab one today. Click the image to take you there.
If you're in LA you might of seen a few billboards commemorating MCA of the Beastie Boys by Shepard and KAVES. LA Weekly ran a story today about how these billboards came to be. Check it out by clicking HERE. Shout out to Jason May for making something like this happen, on his own dime and for the love of the Beasties and MCA.
Shortly after the death of Beastie Boy MCA in early May, a billboard appeared on an industrial stretch of Venice; designed by Brooklyn artist Kaves, it was mostly black and white with a Beastie Boys photo and lyric. (It has since moved to Sunset.) This week another MCA billboard popped up on Fairfax, and then another on Sunset. Designed by Shepard Fairey, the latter two are black and red and feature an iconic Glen E Friedman photo.
Pretty sweet, but what's the deal?
read the rest HERE
Disco Stu doesn't advertise but thankfully we do for our Summer Sample Sale. That's right, it's back! Tell your friends, tell your parents, tell your grandparents, after all it's more fun to hang out with your friends and family. If you come by yourself that's cool too. It's like one big happy family over here and a great chance to meet some new people. Please be on your best behavior as that's what allows us to have this sale every year. Also, please be respectful to our neighbors and only park in designated areas. See the flyer below for parking directions and all the details you need.
Check out the new video we have up on our OBEY Awareness program. Shepard speaks about what we do and the importance of getting people interested in fundraising causes. Dig on this.
Ah yeah, ah yeah! For all you pro Jocks out there and by Jocks I mean Disc Jocks, we have copies of the OBEY x Serato Pressing Artist Series coming to you very, very soon. If you didn't hear about the project, Shepard teamed up with Serato to create Control Records with some of his album cover art on them. These things are classy, classy , classy. Limited to 2000 copies worldwide.
O, CANADA!
