About Shepard Fairey
Frank Shepard Fairey (born February 15, 1970) is an American contemporary artist, activist and founder of OBEY Clothing who emerged from the skateboarding scene. In 1989, he designed the "Andre the Giant Has a Posse" (...OBEY...) sticker campaign while attending the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). Fairey designed the Barack Obama "Hope" poster for the 2008 U.S. presidential election. The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, has described him as one of the best known and most influential street artists. His work is included in the collections at The Smithsonian; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; the Museum of Modern Art in New York City; the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego; the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.; the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond; and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. His style has been described as a "bold iconic style that is based on styling and idealizing images." Fairey first created the "Andre the Giant Has a Posse" image in 1989, while attending the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). Originally intending the sticker campaign to gain fame among his classmates and college peers, Fairey says: At first I was only thinking about the response from my clique of art school and skateboard friends. In 2003, he founded the Studio Number One design agency with his wife, Amanda Fairey. Along with Banksy, Dmote, and others, Fairey created work at a warehouse exhibition in Alexandria, Sydney, for Semi-Permanent in 2003.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.