Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Duality Of Humanity 3”?
Artist Statement
Here is the second collaboration with legendary photographer Al Rockoff. This is image is rightfully named, Duality of Humanity 3.
Summary
Duality Of Humanity 3 is a 2008 screen print by Shepard Fairey, published by Obey Giant in a first edition of 450. Measuring 18 x 24 inches, it is a collaboration with the legendary war photographer Al Rockoff, described by the source as the second collaboration in the series with him. The title underscores Fairey's recurring meditation on humanity's dual nature, capacity for both violence and conscience. Released August 15, 2008 at an original price of $50, the print joins Fairey's collaborative output while touching on themes of conflict and justice through Rockoff's documentary photography filtered into Fairey's graphic style.
Why It Matters
Duality Of Humanity 3 carries weight as part of Fairey's collaboration with Al Rockoff, the combat photographer whose Vietnam-era and Cambodia work lends the series a documentary gravity rarely matched in Fairey's catalog. The "Duality of Humanity" title frames an ongoing inquiry into the coexistence of brutality and humanity, a theme Fairey returns to across a numbered run of prints. As the source-stated second collaboration with Rockoff, this piece anchors a multi-part body of work that collectors tend to pursue as a set, from Duality 1 through Duality 5. For collectors, the value lies in that serial completeness and in the marriage of Fairey's bold graphic language with the moral seriousness of war photography. The piece sits at the intersection of his collaboration practice and his civil-rights-and-justice concerns, making it more conceptually loaded than a purely decorative edition. It rewards owners interested in how Fairey channels real photojournalism into accessible, signed editions that still carry an antiwar and humanitarian charge.
Collector Perspective
This print appeals to collectors who pursue Fairey's numbered series and his collaboration work, particularly the multi-part Duality of Humanity run. As an edition of 450 at an originally modest price, it is approachable while carrying the conceptual heft of its war-photography source. Completists will want it alongside the other Duality prints (1 through 5) to assemble the full sequence, which is its strongest display context. The somber, documentary-rooted imagery gives it a more serious tone than Fairey's pop pieces, suiting collectors who value the antiwar and justice dimensions of his output. It hangs well as part of a thematic grouping on conflict and conscience.
Historical Context
Released August 15, 2008, Duality Of Humanity 3 belongs to Fairey's collaborative numbered series with combat photographer Al Rockoff and, by the source's account, is the second collaboration with him. The series spans multiple prints issued across 2008 and 2009, with companions numbered 1 through 5. Within Fairey's arc, the work reflects his practice of partnering with documentary photographers to bring real-world reportage into his graphic vocabulary, paralleling his approach in music collaborations of the same period. The Duality theme connects to his broader engagement with civil rights and justice, situating the print at the meeting point of his propaganda-era aesthetics and his ongoing humanitarian commentary during a prolific stretch of his career.
FAQ
Who did Fairey collaborate with on this print?
The print is a collaboration with legendary war photographer Al Rockoff. The source describes it as the second collaboration in the series with Rockoff, bringing his documentary photography into Fairey's graphic style. It was published by Obey Giant in 2008.
Is this part of a series?
Yes. Duality Of Humanity 3 is one entry in a numbered series that runs from Duality of Humanity 1 through 5, issued across 2008 and 2009. Collectors often pursue the prints together to assemble the complete sequence.
What does the title mean?
The title reflects Fairey's recurring meditation on the dual nature of humanity, its capacity for both violence and conscience. Drawn from Al Rockoff's war photography, the image carries an antiwar and humanitarian charge consistent with the series' theme of conflict and justice.
What are the print's specifications?
It is an 18 x 24 inch screen print, a first edition of 450, originally priced at $50, released August 15, 2008 through Obey Giant. It is a collaboration with photographer Al Rockoff.
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.