The Start of Obey Giant with Shepard Fairey

Henry Rollins Interview with Shepard Fairey. Two very odd and cool people that you should take something from. Both of these individuals are very unique and are fun to listen to. This post explains the background of Obey and Shepard Fairey's run in with the elements of street art including fines, arrests, and the public. I love how Rollins is able to ask certain questions revolving the differences in corporate marketing and marketing from artists and even street art.

Moving on after my last post I feel that if you don't know who Shepard Fairey is, you should. Looking at his art and subliminal messaging I didn't know what to expect or even how to stereotype him because I've never seen anything like it. Studying Shepard and his Obey Giant work I feel that I have been exposed to a different aspect on the philosophies of marketing and consumer behavior. One quote that I find true from the second part of this interview is when Shepard believes that a majority of people are lazy and they tend to embrace the familiar. This to me is very odd, but it also makes a lot of since. Path of least resistance is something not often discussed, but it is a driving force in both nature such as the progression of a lightning strike and our consumer behavior often relying on purchasing based on repletion of familiar products.

By starting Obey Giant Shepard unknowingly made regular consumers question everything by asking what and who should I "obey". In the first part of the interview Shepard shares the story on how his iconic image where he made his first images of Andre the Giant has a posse. Something so simple was able to capture an audience trying to figure out what the image was representing and why they couldn't find the product with this artwork.

The Start of Obey Giant with Shepard Fairey

Henry Rollins Show   Part 1 | Part 2

The video listed below are portions of the Shepard Fairey interview by Henry Rollins. It is possible that the video URL or the actual video itself will be moved or removed making an error if you follow the link below. Hopefully not, but if this happens the original episode "The Duke Spirit" was aired August 24, 2007, Season 2 Episode 19, on The Henry Rollins Show. Enjoy!