Shepard Fairey Quotes & Sayings

I do think that copyrights and intellectual property are important - it's important to be able to keep people from making verbatim copies of a particular creation that could somehow hurt the creator. If I spend time conceiving and making a piece of art and somebody else sees that it has market value and replicates it in order to steal part of my market, then that's not cool. — Shepard Fairey

I think that the influence of people with power and money to distort democracy and have their interests served before the rest of the population is the biggest problem. That is caused by two things: campaign finance and the way that's structured, and by the Citizen's United supreme court decision. So those two things are keeping democracy from working right. — Shepard Fairey

Just because you've reached a certain level of success, that doesn't mean you've become corrupted by the system. — Shepard Fairey

A lot of people thought I got famous as a studio artist, then decided to cash in on it. But it actually was just a matter of survival for many years, and I felt it was really important for me to be able to say whatever I wanted with my street art and fine art. — Shepard Fairey

I want to be proud of this country [the USA], but when aspects of our policy don't align with my ethics, I want to protest them and try to change them. Being complicit because it's the home team is nationalism, not patriotism. — Shepard Fairey

I've never had an original thought in my lifeand there's tons of people on the internet happy to tell me just that. — Shepard Fairey

I admire Ai Weiwei for his art and his activism. His art is beautiful in form, and in function embodies the principles of populism and social consciousness I aspire to in my own practice. — Shepard Fairey

What excites me is that, when things are tough, people become resourceful, and now with the Internet, social networking and the ability for people who in the past had been relatively powerless, they have tools to be able to spread ideas and organize. The urgency is there and the tools are there and I think that the possibility for really, really powerful results is there. I think it's all brewing, it's all bubbling up right now. — Shepard Fairey

Why is non-commercial public expression considered criminal? — Shepard Fairey

The Internet hasn't had a chance to really get to where people look at it with the proper level of scrutiny. There's so much bullshit on the Internet. It doesn't get filtered out because it's such a new medium. — Shepard Fairey

I said, ok, I'll pay the licensing fee it. And [the AP] said, no, we want to claim damages. I said damages? Because of my poster the Mannie Garcia picture is now worth more than it ever would have been. — Shepard Fairey

Most campaigns rely on photographs because the moment you do something that is a graphic interpretation where any artistic license has been taken, I think a lot of people are scared that it's going to be perceived as propaganda. — Shepard Fairey

There's good and bad in every arena. It's funny, some people, the reason they're in the underground is because they're lazy and don't make things happen for themselves. — Shepard Fairey

When you walk down the street and see something in a crazy spot, there's something powerful about that. The street will always be an important part of getting art out there for me. — Shepard Fairey

The problem with copyright enforcement is that when the parameters aren't incredibly well defined, it means big corporations, who have deeper pockets and better lawyers, can bully people. — Shepard Fairey

I've never really considered myself just a street artist. I consider myself a populist. — Shepard Fairey

Propaganda has a negative connotation, which it partially deserves, but I think there is some propaganda that is very positive. I feel that if you can do something that gets people's attention, then maybe they'll go and find out more about the person. — Shepard Fairey

The way I make art - the way a lot of people make art - is as an extension of language and communication, where references are incredibly important. — Shepard Fairey

If you're creating something that has some sort of cultural currency - if the idea is getting out there - then that will probably yield money in some form, whether it's through selling art or selling books or being asked to give a lecture. — Shepard Fairey

When I think about how I want to reach an audience, I just wanted to make pieces that were inspired by something that gave me so much pleasure. — Shepard Fairey

Art shows and the institutions end up being the couriers for culture for the next generation and are an important component as well. It may seem ironic from one perspective, but I think if you look at my overall strategy, it's actually not out of step. — Shepard Fairey

For me, there has always been a disconnect with the sort of elitist structure of the high-art world - and my distaste for that is at odds with my feeling that art should aspire to do great things. — Shepard Fairey

I think the idea of freedom or liberty is really misused for political reasons, but it's something that resonates with people to the core. People want to be masters of their own destinies, but at the same time, I think they do so selectively. Sometimes they want to be told exactly what to do so they don't have to think for themselves - as long as they can still exercise their free will. — Shepard Fairey

I don't have this obsessive need to do street art all the time because it's already opened doors for me. — Shepard Fairey

I've met Obama a few times, and I think Obama's a quality human being, but I think that he finds himself in a position where your actions are largely dictated by things out of your control. I'm not giving him a pass for not being more courageous, but I do think the entire system needs an overhaul and taking money out of politics would be a really good first step. — Shepard Fairey

The Internet wasn't even an option for me, so one of the reasons I was so motivated to do street art was because there was no other outlet. Maybe if the Internet had been around then, I would have tried to do stuff that went viral and was clever and got me a lot of hits. — Shepard Fairey

Creating is about sharing ideas, sharing aesthetics, sharing what you believe in with other people. — Shepard Fairey

I think the freedom to express one's views is more important than intellectual property. — Shepard Fairey

Every spoof gives more power to the original. — Shepard Fairey

I think "punk" should really be defined as paving your own way creatively and by defying any sort of orthodoxy or commercial pressure. — Shepard Fairey

The world has lost a great musician who will always be an inspiration to me and those at OBEY GIANT. — Shepard Fairey

When it comes to the street-art world, there are a lot of people who realize if they go out and put up a few pieces of street art and photograph them really well, even if their locations weren't actually that high-profile or dangerous, with the level of exposure they get from the Internet, with a large audience, they can maintain that rebel cache by having it be theoretically documented street art. — Shepard Fairey

I'm mischievous. The idea of taking risks and having real-world consequences energizes me. — Shepard Fairey

I think the biggest thing that people fear when it comes to art becoming a business is those authentic, pure aspirations of art being compromised. — Shepard Fairey

The sticker has no meaning but exists only to cause people to react, to contemplate and search for meaning in the sticker, — Shepard Fairey

If the idea that my safety can only be enhanced by putting other people's privacy and safety in danger, then I don't want to be more safe. — Shepard Fairey

I love the classic trucker jacket as an icon of rock 'n' roll and rebellion. — Shepard Fairey

If being original means having to throw paint in front of a jet turbine to hit a canvas 50 ft away then lets not be original. — Shepard Fairey

People like to talk shit, but it's usually to justify their own apathy. — Shepard Fairey

MY INSPIRATION FOR THIS LIMITED EDITION DESIGN WAS BASED ON THE LEGACY OF HENNESSY AS A BRAND. TO ME, HENNESSY HAS ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT QUALITY, AUTHENTICITY, TRADITION, AND ELEGANCE. — Shepard Fairey

I wear some of my stuff, but usually the less in-your-face designs. I get a little self conscious, there is a fine line between pride and ego. — Shepard Fairey

Public art is ephemeral by nature. Google 's new project not only catalogs an artist's work but archives it and allows people to see the art long after it has disappeared. — Shepard Fairey

As a street artist, I'm used to sharing my stuff with the public. It's a communal experience. I've learned not to be so precious, but rather to enjoy the process. — Shepard Fairey

I think the Internet has definitely made it easier for people to have stuff seen, but it's also encouraged a level of ADD, where you see so much that if it doesn't make an impact on you immediately, you don't look at it. — Shepard Fairey