Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Gaslamp Killer”?
Artist Statement
18 x 24 inch Screen Print Signed Edition of 400. (comes with GLK CD) Release Date: 03/19/2008 “My art for the Gaslamp Killer mix was inspired by a combination of the music and personality of the Gaslamp Killer. The GLK is into dark and psychedelic sounds, so that, combined with his name, called for a hippie/horror salad tossed with a blood vinaigrette. The flavor was only enhanced by the Gaslamp Killer’s more sinister personal look, having shaved his dreads and grown an unruly beard and sideburns combo worthy of the most savage maniacs. You must wade through boiling pools of blood to get to the promised land, but the journey the Gaslamp Killer takes you on is all part of the destination.” – Shepard Fairey
Summary
Gaslamp Killer is a 2008 signed screen print, 18 x 24 inches, in a first edition of 400 published by Obey Giant, released March 19, 2008, and came with a GLK CD. The art accompanies a Gaslamp Killer music mix. In his statement, Fairey describes the imagery as inspired by the DJ's dark, psychedelic sounds and sinister personal look, evoking a 'hippie/horror' aesthetic with blood and macabre motifs. It is a music-collaboration print pairing artwork with a physical CD release, reflecting Fairey's practice of tying editions directly to musicians' projects.
Why It Matters
Gaslamp Killer is a vivid example of how Fairey matched his visual language to a specific musician's sonic identity, here producing deliberately dark, psychedelic, horror-tinged imagery to mirror the DJ's sound and persona. In his statement he describes a 'hippie/horror salad tossed with a blood vinaigrette,' a striking departure from the cleaner propaganda graphics he is best known for, showing his stylistic range when serving a music collaboration. The print's bundling with a GLK CD underscores his recurring practice of integrating artwork into musicians' physical releases, blurring the line between art edition and music merchandise. Issued in a signed first edition of 400, it documents Fairey's engagement with the Los Angeles beat and experimental electronic scene of the late 2000s. For collectors of music prints and Fairey's collaborative output, it is notable both for its unusually macabre mood and for the included CD, which makes the original package a more complete artifact. It illustrates how his music work extends beyond rock and punk into DJ and producer culture.
Collector Perspective
This print suits collectors of music collaborations, fans of the Gaslamp Killer and the LA experimental electronic scene, and those who appreciate Fairey's darker, more psychedelic stylistic excursions. The included GLK CD makes a complete original package especially desirable to completists. With a signed first edition of 400, it is a defined acquisition that pairs well with his other music prints while standing out for its horror-tinged mood. Its atmospheric imagery offers a distinctive visual counterpoint to the cleaner political and portrait works in a broader Fairey display.
Historical Context
Released March 2008, Gaslamp Killer reflects Fairey's engagement with the Los Angeles beat and experimental electronic music scene, broadening his music output beyond rock and punk into DJ and producer culture. The CD-bundled format situates it within his practice of attaching artwork to musicians' physical releases. Stylistically, its dark, psychedelic, horror-inflected approach, described in his own statement, shows him adapting his graphic vocabulary to a specific artist's identity. It appears among his many 2008 music and collaboration prints, part of a productive year that also saw his Obama imagery propel him to national prominence.
FAQ
What are the edition details?
Gaslamp Killer is a signed screen print measuring 18 x 24 inches, published by Obey Giant in a first edition of 400. It was released March 19, 2008, and came with a GLK CD.
What inspired the imagery?
Per Fairey's statement, the art was inspired by the Gaslamp Killer's dark, psychedelic sounds and sinister personal look, evoking a hippie/horror aesthetic with blood and macabre motifs that mirror the DJ's music and personality.
Does the print include anything extra?
Yes. According to the source, the print came bundled with a GLK CD, reflecting Fairey's practice of integrating his artwork into musicians' physical releases.
How does it differ from Fairey's usual style?
Its deliberately dark, psychedelic, horror-tinged imagery is a notable departure from the cleaner propaganda graphics he is best known for, showing his stylistic range when serving a specific music collaboration.
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.