Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Ankara (Black)”?
Artist Statement
ANKARA BLACK Screen Print 18 x 24 inches Edition of 300
Summary
Ankara (Black) is a 2005 Shepard Fairey screen print published by Obey Giant in an edition of 300, measuring 18 x 24 inches. It is the black colorway of the design, which was also issued in red. Rendered in Fairey's flat, high-contrast graphic style, the print sits among his accessible mid-2000s Obey Giant editions, released at an original price of $30. The image combines decorative pattern and emblematic composition characteristic of his screen-print work. As a standard 18 x 24 inch edition offered in two colorways, it reflects the variant-driven production approach Fairey used during this period.
Why It Matters
Ankara (Black) is part of the dense run of mid-2000s Obey Giant editions through which Shepard Fairey refined his decorative and pattern-based graphic vocabulary. Issuing the design in both black and red colorways reflects Fairey's screen-printer's instinct for using color as a primary expressive variable, and it gives collectors the option to pursue variants. For collectors, prints from this 2005 window are valued as evidence of Fairey's style consolidating in the years just before mainstream recognition arrived with the 2008 Obama image. The work's ornamental, pattern-rich composition shows the side of his practice that draws on textile, propaganda-poster, and decorative-arts sources rather than celebrity portraiture, broadening the range of his catalog. At an accessible original format and edition size, it served as an attainable entry point for collectors at release. Within a collection it complements his portrait and street-culture prints by representing the more decorative, design-forward dimension of his output. Its appeal rests on that stylistic breadth and the variant pairing rather than on any scarcity claim, which the source does not support.
Collector Perspective
This print appeals to collectors who appreciate the decorative, pattern-forward side of Shepard Fairey's work and to those who enjoy collecting color variants, since it was issued in both black and red. The bold black colorway reads strongly on a wall and pairs naturally with other 18 x 24 inch screen prints from his mid-2000s catalog. At its accessible original format and edition size, it suits collectors building breadth rather than focusing only on marquee portraits. Completists may seek both colorways to display as a set. It fits comfortably alongside his other ornamental and pop-culture editions of the period.
Historical Context
Ankara (Black) belongs to Shepard Fairey's productive mid-2000s Obey Giant period, when he released many 18 x 24 inch screen-print editions, frequently in multiple colorways. The work's decorative, pattern-based composition reflects his long-running interest in textile, propaganda-poster, and ornamental sources, which run parallel to his portrait and street-culture works. Released in 2005, it predates the 2008 Obama "Hope" image and sits among the prints that established his graphic identity before mainstream fame. The paired black and red editions reflect a production strategy Fairey used repeatedly across this era, positioning the work within the design-forward strand of his catalog.
FAQ
How many colorways of Ankara exist?
The source lists two editions: this Black version and a Red version. Issuing a design in multiple colorways was a recurring Shepard Fairey practice, and collectors sometimes pursue both to display the variants together.
What are the dimensions and edition size?
Ankara (Black) is a screen print measuring 18 x 24 inches, published by Obey Giant in 2005 in an edition of 300. This was a standard accessible run size for Fairey's editions of the period.
What was the original release price?
The record lists an original price of $30, consistent with Obey Giant's accessible pricing for its standard 18 x 24 inch screen-print editions in 2005.
What kind of imagery does it use?
The print uses a decorative, pattern-based composition rendered in Fairey's flat, high-contrast graphic style, reflecting the ornamental and design-forward strand of his work rather than celebrity portraiture.
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.