Shepard Fairey

Shepard Fairey (American, b.1970) is a renowned graphic artist known for his work on the images of Andre the Giant and the word obey. Fairey was born in Charleston, SC, and he became interested in art as a young man, when he started to use his drawings on T-shirts and skateboards. Two of Fairey's well-known pieces are Obey (1992) and Hope (2008). Hope is an iconic portrait of the American president Barack Obama that Fairey produced during the 2008 American presidential campaign. Fairey has been involved in both solo and group exhibitions in worldwide. Fairey received the Brit Insurance Design of the Year Award in 2009 for his Hope poster. The artist has been involved in different controversies, mainly related to the allegations that he uses other artists' work without permission.