Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Henry Rollins Countdown”?
Artist Statement
Henry is awesome. He was and continues to be an inspiration and influence for me I was honored to do this poster for his spoken word tour. He also recently wrote an essay for my Museum show at the ICA in Boston. The guy is on point. -Shepard Print will be on sale Friday, 10/03. Edition of 1650, only 200 available on OBEY, $45.
Summary
Henry Rollins Countdown is a 2008 screen print by Shepard Fairey, published by Obey Giant in a first edition of 1650, with only 200 available on OBEY. Measuring 24 x 18 inches, it was created as a poster for Henry Rollins's spoken word tour. Fairey calls Rollins an inspiration and influence and notes that Rollins wrote an essay for Fairey's museum show at the ICA in Boston. Released October 3, 2008 at an original price of $45, the print honors the punk-rooted musician, writer, and spoken-word artist within Fairey's collaborations-and-pop-culture catalog.
Why It Matters
Henry Rollins Countdown documents a genuine mutual-admiration relationship between two figures rooted in punk and hardcore culture. The source establishes the bond clearly: the print was made as a poster for Rollins's spoken word tour, and Rollins reciprocated by writing an essay for Fairey's museum show at the ICA in Boston, a notable institutional milestone in Fairey's career. That cross-endorsement gives the piece cultural significance beyond a standard musician portrait, linking Fairey's street-art world to the spoken-word and punk-essayist lineage Rollins represents. Its larger edition of 1650, with only 200 sold through OBEY, reflects its origin as a functional tour poster rather than a tightly limited fine-art edition, which shapes both its availability and its character as a piece of music-event ephemera. For collectors, it sits at the intersection of Fairey's music affinities and his counterculture roots, offering an accessible, personally meaningful collaboration. It captures the artist honoring a hero whose influence he openly credits.
Collector Perspective
This print appeals to collectors of Fairey's music and counterculture work and to fans of Henry Rollins and the broader punk and spoken-word scene. With a larger edition of 1650 and only 200 sold through OBEY, it carries the character of an authentic tour poster, which many collectors prize for its event-driven origin. At an originally accessible price, it is an approachable acquisition. The connection to Fairey's ICA Boston museum show, for which Rollins wrote an essay, adds documented context that enriches its story. It displays well within a music-and-counterculture grouping and pairs naturally with Fairey's other musician and band prints, anchoring a wall focused on his punk and pop-culture affinities.
Historical Context
Released October 3, 2008, Henry Rollins Countdown reflects Fairey's deep ties to punk and hardcore culture, the same roots that shaped his early aesthetic. Created as a poster for Rollins's spoken word tour, it sits within Fairey's tradition of honoring musicians and counterculture figures who influenced him. The print also coincides with a career milestone the source notes directly: Rollins wrote an essay for Fairey's museum show at the ICA in Boston, signaling Fairey's growing institutional recognition by 2008. Its larger edition size and tour-poster function place it among his more widely distributed releases of the period, distinct from his tightly limited collaborations, while remaining firmly in the music-and-counterculture thread that runs throughout his body of work.
FAQ
What is the edition size of Henry Rollins Countdown?
It is a first edition of 1650, with only 200 made available on OBEY. The 24 x 18 inch screen print was published by Obey Giant in 2008 at an original price of $45, with a release date of October 3, 2008.
Why did Fairey make this print?
Fairey created it as a poster for Henry Rollins's spoken word tour. He describes Rollins as an inspiration and influence, and notes that Rollins reciprocated by writing an essay for Fairey's museum show at the ICA in Boston.
How does it relate to Fairey's career milestones?
The source ties the print to Fairey's museum show at the ICA in Boston, for which Rollins wrote an essay. This connection situates the work alongside a notable moment of institutional recognition for Fairey in 2008.
Is this a limited fine-art edition?
It is a larger edition of 1650 with only 200 sold through OBEY, reflecting its origin as a tour poster rather than a tightly limited fine-art edition. This larger run shapes both its availability and its character as music-event ephemera.
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.