Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Lenin Record”?
Artist Statement
LENIN RECORD Screen Print 18 x 24 inches Edition of 300
Summary
Lenin Record is a 2005 screen print by Shepard Fairey, published by Obey Giant in an edition of 300 at 18 x 24 inches. The work pairs imagery of Lenin with a record motif, fusing Soviet-era political iconography with music-culture references, a combination characteristic of Fairey's propaganda-inflected appropriation of revolutionary visual language. It belongs to his mid-2000s run of accessible screen prints. The source provides limited descriptive detail beyond title, medium, dimensions, and edition.
Why It Matters
Lenin Record sits squarely within Fairey's career-long appropriation of revolutionary and propaganda imagery, repurposing the visual language of Soviet political art for his own ambiguous, aesthetically charged ends. Pairing Lenin, an instantly recognizable emblem of twentieth-century revolution, with a record motif fuses political iconography and music culture, the two wells Fairey draws from most often. The juxtaposition is characteristically double-edged: Fairey borrows the authority and graphic power of propaganda while emptying or recontextualizing its original ideology, a strategy that runs throughout his OBEY project. Released in 2005 as a 300-piece screen print at an accessible price, it gave collectors a compact example of his propaganda-appropriation mode applied to a music-adjacent subject. In a database it matters as a data point in Fairey's sustained engagement with revolutionary aesthetics, a thread linking his work to Russian Constructivism and agitprop design. Because the source description is brief, deeper claims about the work's specific message stay cautious, but the subject and title clearly place it within his propaganda-and-music territory, making it useful for collectors tracking how he blends political symbols with cultural references.
Collector Perspective
This print appeals to collectors drawn to Fairey's appropriation of revolutionary and propaganda imagery, and to those who enjoy the collision of political symbols with music culture. The Lenin-plus-record concept gives it conceptual edge that rewards viewers who appreciate Fairey's recontextualizing strategy. At 18 x 24 inches it frames cleanly and fits within a grouping of mid-2000s Obey editions. The edition of 300 keeps it accessible to newer collectors. Display appeal favors those who like graphically bold, ideologically loaded imagery, and it pairs naturally with other 2005 first-edition screen prints from the period.
Historical Context
Lenin Record dates to 2005, within Fairey's steady output of 300-piece Obey Giant screen prints before his 2008 mainstream breakthrough. Its use of Lenin imagery ties to his long engagement with Soviet-era propaganda and Constructivist design, a visual lineage he repeatedly appropriated and recontextualized across the OBEY project. Combining that political iconography with a record motif reflects his habit of merging revolutionary aesthetics with music culture. The print belongs to his accessible mid-2000s body of work and exemplifies the propaganda-appropriation strategy central to his practice.
FAQ
What is Lenin Record?
It is a 2005 screen print by Shepard Fairey, published by Obey Giant, measuring 18 x 24 inches in an edition of 300. The work pairs imagery of Lenin with a record motif, combining political iconography with music-culture references.
Why does Fairey use Lenin imagery?
Fairey frequently appropriates revolutionary and propaganda imagery, recontextualizing its graphic power within his own ambiguous visual system. Lenin is a recognizable emblem of revolution. The source offers limited description beyond the title, medium, dimensions, and edition, so deeper claims stay cautious.
What are the edition and dimensions?
It was issued as a first edition of 300 screen prints at 18 x 24 inches, published by Obey Giant in 2005 at an original price of $30. That edition size makes it one of his more available mid-2000s releases.
Who collects this print?
It appeals to collectors interested in Fairey's appropriation of revolutionary imagery and the collision of political symbols with music culture, and it pairs well with other 2005 first-edition Obey screen prints.
Related Works
About the Artist
Shepard Fairey (b. 1970, Charleston, South Carolina) is an American street artist, graphic designer, and activist, and a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design. His 1989 “André the Giant Has a Posse” sticker grew into the global OBEY GIANT campaign — an ongoing experiment in propaganda, obedience, and visual culture. He reached worldwide recognition with the 2008 “Hope” portrait of Barack Obama, now held by the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. Across screen prints, stencils, murals, and collage, Fairey channels propaganda aesthetics toward themes of peace, justice, environmentalism, and civil rights. His work is in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Victoria & Albert Museum, and LACMA.