Draft #2

In 7^th grade, I saw an image that captivated me, and as soon as I saw it, the thought, “I could make a stencil out of that” popped into my mind. After looking on the Internet to find out what it was, I then learned that it was Shepard Fairey’s stencil of Andre the Giant with the word “Obey” under it in white text with a bold red background. I became enthralled by the image, and created one of myself in the same style. From then on, Fairy became a major influence to me and to the stencils I created. As I became more interested in his art and company, I realized that he was more than just an artist. I came to realize that he and I related in more ways than one.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been an artistic person, and throughout my life, art has changed the way I think and view life. I always loved drawing as a kid, and it consumed a lot of my time. As I grew older, I started getting interested in different types of art, and I went from phase to phase, until I found stenciling. I was 12 when I made my first stencil of my initials “DMD”. I liked the fact that I had created something that I could use over and over again, and as I got more interested in the subject, my stencils started getting more and more complex, aswell as starting to gain meaning instead of just being random images.

The thing that interested me most about stenciling was the fact that it was art with a strong political message, and I think that Shepard Fairey defines that category. Starting his career at Rhode Island School of Design, he first created prints and stencils for local skate shops and painted around the area. Eventually the pieces he put around Rhode Island caught the eye of the public, and this was when he started to gain popularity. His art conveys a liberal way of thinking, and unlike most artists who hide that, he blatantly displays these messages in his art. The way he combines beautiful patterns and images with political statements is different than any other artist out there, and his impact on the country is growing by the day. Although his art is original, his influences vary from films to music to skateboarding. Many of his messages are lyrics from bands like Black Flag and his famous text “Obey” was taken from the cult classic “They Live”. By using these influences in his art, he is not only contributing to a counter-culture from the past, but also starting his own revolution of art and politics.

In this day and age, politics are more important than ever, and corporations are bombarding our cities and televisions with advertisements and demands. War has been a constant problem for the past 8 years, and it almost feels like Americans really have no say in what happens to our country anymore. Slowly but surely, artists are emerging because of this change of power, and using the streets as a public gallery. If artists like Shepard continue to contradict politics, soon enough, we will start to see change in the form of more and more people, including myself, contributing to his cause, and to the cause of his influences.