Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Obey Billboard (Eye) (First Edition)”?
Artist Statement
18 x 24 inch Screen Print. Signed Edition of 450
Summary
Obey Billboard (Eye) is a 2008 screen print by Shepard Fairey, published by Obey Giant in a signed first edition of 450. Measuring 18 x 24 inches, it deploys the recurring OBEY eye motif within a billboard-style composition, drawing on the visual conventions of advertising and surveillance imagery. The all-seeing eye, a staple of Fairey's iconography, anchors the design with his high-contrast graphic palette and propaganda-poster styling. Released July 31, 2008 at an original price of $45, the work pairs with its same-day companion Obey Billboard (Consume) and continues Fairey's consumerism-and-power theme through the appropriated language of outdoor commercial media.
Why It Matters
Obey Billboard (Eye) foregrounds one of Fairey's most enduring symbols, the watchful eye, and places it in the billboard format that defines so much of his street-derived practice. The eye operates on two registers at once: it evokes surveillance and the sense of being constantly observed, and it functions as a branding device, the unblinking logo of the OBEY system. By siting it on a billboard, Fairey links the imagery of being watched to the imagery of being marketed to, collapsing surveillance and advertising into a single visual statement. For collectors, this is a concentrated expression of OBEY iconography rather than a portrait or music piece, valuable to those who prize Fairey's symbolic, brand-driven work. As a signed edition of 450 issued the same day as its Consume companion, it is best understood as half of a deliberate pairing. The print extends a conceptual lineage that runs from the early OBEY phenomenology experiments through to later propaganda-services imagery, reinforcing how central the eye motif is to Fairey's overall visual identity.
Collector Perspective
This print suits collectors focused on Fairey's core OBEY symbolism, especially the iconic eye, and on his surveillance and consumerism commentary. As a signed edition of 450 at an originally accessible price, it offers an entry point into his conceptual graphic work. It is designed to hang alongside its same-day companion Obey Billboard (Consume) as a two-piece set, and it slots cleanly into a wall of OBEY-iconography and propaganda-themed prints. The strong central eye and bold billboard layout give it immediate graphic presence. Buyers assembling a thematic OBEY-brand collection, or anyone drawn to the surveillance motif, will find it a coherent and recognizable addition.
Historical Context
Released July 31, 2008 through Obey Giant, Obey Billboard (Eye) comes from the same productive period in which Fairey was sharpening the OBEY brand into pointed cultural critique. It is one half of a paired same-day release with Obey Billboard (Consume), reflecting Fairey's habit of issuing companion images with shared format and theme. The eye motif it centers has roots in the earliest OBEY work and recurs across his career, later resurfacing in pieces such as the Obey Eye offset poster and the Propaganda Services Eye print. Within his arc, this billboard edition marks the studio-edition formalization of imagery that began on the street, issued during a year when Fairey's broader public profile was rising sharply.
FAQ
What is the edition size of Obey Billboard (Eye)?
It is a signed first edition of 450, published by Obey Giant in 2008. The screen print measures 18 x 24 inches and originally sold for $45, with a release date of July 31, 2008.
What does the print depict?
It centers the OBEY eye motif within a billboard-style composition, drawing on the language of advertising and surveillance. The recurring all-seeing eye anchors the design in Fairey's high-contrast graphic style, tied to his consumerism-and-power theme.
Is there a companion print?
Yes. Obey Billboard (Consume) was released the same day, July 31, 2008, sharing the 18 x 24 inch format and signed edition of 450. The two billboard prints function as a deliberate pair within the same theme.
Is the print signed?
Yes, the source lists it as a signed edition of 450 published by Obey Giant in 2008 at a $45 release price. No further authentication or certificate details are specified in the source record beyond the signed-edition designation.
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.