Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “I Love Rock Collage”?
Artist Statement
I shot the photo while working in the garage one day. The funny thing is that I originally shot the photo because shep was experimenting with color, because he used bright purples on that piece so i though to myself that i would grab some evidence of his color knowledge to figth some backlash of him just being able to work in black red and cream. Then when I got home i realized I was shooting black and white film. But it worked out. I loved to photo and I printed shep a copy on silver paper. when he saw it he though we should make a print of it. It is a silkscreen Print it is 24 by 24 and the colors are Black/Dark Silver/Light Silver. So thats enough out of me. Thanks for the interest. -Ernesto Yerena
Summary
I Love Rock Collage is a 2008 screen print published by Obey Giant, released April 16, 2008, in a First Edition of 350. Measuring 24 by 24 inches, it is based on a photograph by Ernesto Yerena, who shot it in the garage while Shepard Fairey was experimenting with color. Yerena's note recounts that he intended to capture Fairey's use of bright purples but had loaded black-and-white film; the result was printed on silver paper, and Fairey decided to make a print of it. The square image uses Black, Dark Silver, and Light Silver, blending collage and music-influenced imagery.
Why It Matters
I Love Rock Collage is notable for its documented collaborative origin, told in the source by Ernesto Yerena himself. His first-person account explains that the image began as a garage photograph meant to record Fairey's experiments with bright purples, only for Yerena to discover he had shot black-and-white film; the accidental result, printed on silver paper, impressed Fairey enough to turn it into an edition. That story makes the print a candid window into the working relationship between Fairey and Yerena, a frequent collaborator, and into the experimental, improvisational side of the OBEY studio. The square 24 by 24 inch format and the Black, Dark Silver, and Light Silver palette give it a distinctive, metallic graphic look tied directly to the silver-paper origin. The collage and rock-music subject connect it to Fairey's broader body of music-influenced work. With a stated First Edition of 350, it is a moderate edition. For collectors, the appeal is owning a piece with a transparent collaboration narrative, an unusual color scheme, and a place within Fairey's music and collaboration output rather than his iconic political imagery.
Collector Perspective
This print appeals to collectors who appreciate the collaborative, behind-the-scenes side of Fairey's studio and his music-influenced work. Ernesto Yerena's documented account of the garage photo shoot and the accidental black-and-white film gives the piece a memorable story that rewards owners who display the context. The square 24 by 24 inch format and the Black, Dark Silver, and Light Silver palette make it visually distinctive and easy to feature as a focal point. The First Edition of 350 keeps it in an accessible middle tier for collectors who want a signed-era Obey Giant screen print without top-tier scarcity. It fits well in a music-and-collaboration grouping or alongside Yerena-related and rock-themed prints, suiting collectors who favor the personal and experimental threads in Fairey's catalog.
Historical Context
This print sits within Fairey's late-2000s collaborative output, when Ernesto Yerena worked closely with the OBEY studio. The source, narrated by Yerena, dates the release to April 16, 2008 and locates the image's origin in a garage photo session during one of Fairey's color experiments. The accidental black-and-white film and silver-paper print capture the improvisational, hands-on culture of the studio in this period. Within Fairey's arc, the piece reflects how everyday studio moments and trusted collaborators sometimes became formal editions, and how his deep interest in rock and music imagery surfaced even in incidental works. Rather than a landmark political statement, it functions as a documented collaboration that illustrates the working partnership between Fairey and Yerena and the experimental aesthetic of Obey Giant during the late 2000s.
FAQ
Who took the photo behind this print?
According to the source, Ernesto Yerena shot the photograph in the garage while Fairey was experimenting with color. Yerena originally wanted to capture Fairey's use of bright purples but realized he had loaded black-and-white film; the result still worked and became the basis for the print.
What colors and size is it?
The record describes it as a 24 by 24 inch silkscreen print in Black, Dark Silver, and Light Silver. The silver tones relate to Yerena's original print of the photo on silver paper, which prompted Fairey to make an edition.
What is the edition size?
The source lists a First Edition of 350, published by Obey Giant in 2008. It is described as a single First Edition rather than having multiple colorways.
When was it released?
The record gives a release date of April 16, 2008. It is a screen print published by Obey Giant, with the origin story credited to Ernesto Yerena in the source description.
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.