Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “LA Philharmonic Hall (First Edition)”?
Artist Statement
18 x 24 inch Screen Print Signed Edition of 350. Shepard was commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic to do a piece of artwork for their Concrete Frequency Series. The print Shepard created is an image the famous Walt Disney Concert Hall designed by Frank Gehry which is one of Los Angeles’ newest landmarks.
Summary
LA Philharmonic Hall is a 2008 signed screen print, 18 x 24 inches, in a first edition of 350 published by Obey Giant. Fairey was commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic to create artwork for its Concrete Frequency Series. The print depicts the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Frank Gehry-designed landmark and home of the LA Philharmonic. Rendered in Fairey's graphic poster idiom, the image translates the curving stainless-steel architecture into a flat, stylized illustration. Originally offered at $35, it pairs a recognizable civic building with a music-institution collaboration rather than carrying overt political content.
Why It Matters
This print sits at the intersection of Fairey's institutional collaborations and his interest in architecture and civic identity, making it less common than his band or political posters. Commissioned directly by the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the Concrete Frequency Series, it represents a moment when a major cultural institution embraced Fairey's street-poster aesthetic for promotional fine art. The subject, Frank Gehry's Walt Disney Concert Hall, is itself an icon of Los Angeles, so the print doubles as both an artist edition and a piece of place-specific Americana that resonates with collectors tied to the city or to modern architecture. The edition of 350 is modest for the period, and the official institutional commission gives it a clear, documentable origin story. For collectors building a Fairey set, it is a useful example of how his commercial collaborations extended beyond music and skate culture into the world of orchestral and architectural patronage, broadening the cultural footprint of the Obey Giant studio in the late 2000s.
Collector Perspective
This appeals to collectors who favor Fairey's collaboration and architecture-themed work over his overtly political prints, as well as Los Angeles locals and fans of the Walt Disney Concert Hall. The clean, single-landmark composition makes it an easy framing choice for music rooms, offices, or homes that want a recognizable civic icon without political signaling. As a signed edition of 350 from 2008, it fits naturally into a chronological Fairey collection or a themed grouping of his institutional commissions and music-world pieces. Its understated subject matter can make it a quieter complement to bolder portrait or propaganda prints in a larger display.
Historical Context
Released January 2008, this print belongs to a productive stretch of Fairey's music and collaboration output in the late 2000s, the years immediately preceding his breakout Obama HOPE image. The piece reflects how, by this point, his studio was attracting commissions from established cultural institutions like the Los Angeles Philharmonic, signaling his crossover from street artist and album-art illustrator toward mainstream institutional acceptance. The Concrete Frequency Series tie-in places it within the orchestra's contemporary programming, and the choice of Gehry's concert hall connects Fairey's poster language to Los Angeles civic identity. It stands alongside his other 2008 music-adjacent releases as part of a busy year of editioned screen prints.
FAQ
What does this print depict?
It depicts the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Frank Gehry-designed building that is one of Los Angeles' newest landmarks and home to the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Fairey created the image after being commissioned by the Philharmonic for its Concrete Frequency Series.
What are the edition details?
It is a signed screen print measuring 18 x 24 inches, published by Obey Giant in a first edition of 350. It was released in 2008 and originally offered at $35.
Why was this print made?
Shepard Fairey was commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic to create a piece of artwork for their Concrete Frequency Series, choosing to depict the orchestra's home, the Walt Disney Concert Hall.
How does it fit Fairey's broader work?
It is part of his late-2000s run of music and collaboration prints, but stands out as an institutional commission centered on architecture and a civic landmark rather than a band or political subject.
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.