Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Retro Series - Obey '89 (Large Format)”?
Artist Statement
These Large Format prints were created to commemorate the release of Shepard's monograph Supply and Demand. The series displays the evolution of the GIANT ICON Face and Shepard's progression in design from 1989 to 2004. Each print measures 2.5' x 3.5' and is an edition of 89, signed and numbered. We are offering the series individually and as a set and if you purchase the set we will included a signed copy of the Supply and Demand book. $400 Individually, or $1200 for the set.
Summary
Retro Series - Obey '89 is a 2006 large-format screen print published by Obey Giant, measuring 42 by 30 inches in a signed and numbered edition of 89. Part of a series created to commemorate the release of Shepard Fairey's monograph Supply and Demand, the print isolates the GIANT ICON Face as it appeared in 1989, the earliest stage in the design's evolution the series documents. The work was offered individually at $400 or as a set, with set buyers receiving a signed copy of the book. Rendered in Fairey's bold OBEY iconography, it presents the face image at a deliberately large scale.
Why It Matters
This print matters because it captures the starting point of the OBEY ICON's documented evolution. The Retro Series traces the GIANT ICON Face from 1989 to 2004, and the '89 edition represents the origin year of that progression, making it the chronological anchor of the set. For OBEY iconography collectors, owning the earliest year carries special weight, since it shows the image at the beginning of the timeline the series was built to illustrate. Its release accompanied the Supply and Demand monograph, the book surveying Fairey's career, and the full set originally shipped with a signed copy, linking the print directly to that retrospective publication. At 42 by 30 inches and an edition of only 89, the large format gives the early icon a commanding wall presence. The work is most powerful in context, displayed alongside the later Retro years to reveal how the design changed over fifteen years. Its appeal rests on chronology and origin: as the first chapter in the visual story, it carries an outsized symbolic role within the series for collectors who care about the icon's development.
Collector Perspective
This print appeals strongly to OBEY iconography collectors and Fairey completists, with added pull as the earliest year in the Retro Series, the starting point of the documented icon timeline. The large 42-by-30-inch format and signed, numbered edition of 89 make it a wall statement, well suited to collectors who can hang the series as a grouped chronological set. Its tie to the Supply and Demand monograph adds appeal for book and ephemera collectors. Buyers who value the origin story of the GIANT ICON will be drawn to the '89 designation specifically, while series-minded collectors will prize how it anchors the '95, '99, and '04 editions to complete the full progression the series was designed to show.
Historical Context
Released in 2006, this print sits in Fairey's mid-career period, created to commemorate the publication of Supply and Demand, a monograph surveying his work. The Retro Series was designed to display the evolution of the GIANT ICON Face from 1989 to 2004, and the '89 edition references the origin year of that span. The 1989 sticker campaign that launched the icon predates this print by nearly two decades; here Fairey looks back on that beginning from the vantage of an established career. Published by Obey Giant in large format, the work reflects a moment of self-retrospection, packaging the icon's history into a structured collectible series tied to the OBEY thread running throughout his output.
FAQ
What does the '89 in the title signify?
The Retro Series displays the evolution of the GIANT ICON Face from 1989 to 2004, and the '89 edition captures the icon as it appeared in 1989, the earliest stage and origin point of the design progression the series documents.
What is the edition size?
It is a signed and numbered edition of 89, published by Obey Giant in 2006. Each example in the run carries the artist's signature and an assigned edition number.
How large is the print?
It measures 42 by 30 inches, described in the source as roughly 2.5 by 3.5 feet, giving the early GIANT ICON Face a commanding scale on the wall relative to Fairey's smaller editions.
Why was the series created?
The Large Format prints were made to commemorate the release of Shepard Fairey's monograph Supply and Demand. They were offered individually at $400 or as a set for $1200, with set buyers receiving a signed copy of the book.
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.