Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Islam”?
Artist Statement
ISLAM Screen Print 18 x 24 inches Edition of 100
Summary
Islam is a 1998 Shepard Fairey screen print published by Obey Giant in a first edition of 100, measuring 18 x 24 inches. The print takes its title and subject from the word and imagery of Islam, rendered in Fairey's flat, high-contrast propaganda-poster style. As with the other late-1990s editions, it isolates a loaded cultural and ideological theme and reframes it through the visual vocabulary of mass-produced propaganda. The source record provides limited descriptive detail beyond title, date, medium, dimensions, and edition, so its precise imagery and intent are interpreted cautiously here within the context of Fairey's surrounding 1998 work.
Why It Matters
Islam belongs to Fairey's foundational late-1990s Obey Giant editions, the period when he formalized his propaganda-inspired aesthetic into screen prints of 100. Engaging a subject as culturally and politically charged as Islam reflects the wider strategy of the cohort, appropriating symbols and themes of power, belief, and ideology and presenting them in a deliberately provocative graphic style that asks viewers to examine how such imagery is received. Because the source record carries no description, the specific content and message should be treated cautiously, but the print's placement among companion 1998 works on leaders and authority situates it within Fairey's broader interrogation of how potent symbols are circulated and interpreted. For collectors, Islam is significant as a scarcer, pre-fame example from the early Obey period, with a small stated edition of 100. It contributes to a chronological understanding of how Fairey tested charged subject matter before his wider recognition, and it documents his willingness to engage difficult themes within the same editioned format he applied across the 1998 series.
Collector Perspective
Islam suits collectors building a comprehensive early-Obey holding or a chronological 1998 series, where it completes the set alongside Cop, Stalin, Grenade, and Mao at a uniform 18 x 24 inch size. The stated first edition of 100 and 1998 date appeal to buyers focused on scarcity and pre-fame provenance. Because the source provides limited detail, collectors should rely on direct inspection of the image for specifics rather than on this database entry. Its value within a collection is largely as part of the matched late-1990s cohort, contributing completeness and continuity. Collectors drawn to Fairey's engagement with charged cultural and ideological themes will find it a meaningful, if less documented, addition to a thematic grouping.
Historical Context
Islam was produced in 1998 during the consolidation of Fairey's Obey Giant project, which had grown from his 1989 Andre the Giant sticker campaign. In this period he issued a sequence of 18 x 24 inch screen prints in editions of 100 engaging politically and ideologically charged subjects. Islam sits within that cohort, alongside leader portraits and symbols of authority from the same year. These late-1990s editions predate his wider recognition and his 2008 Hope poster, placing the print in the foundational Posters and Propaganda phase of his arc. With limited source detail, its exact role is best understood through its proximity to the surrounding 1998 works rather than through specific documented intent.
FAQ
What is Islam by Shepard Fairey?
Islam is a 1998 Obey Giant screen print whose title and subject draw on the imagery of Islam, rendered in Fairey's high-contrast propaganda style. The source record is limited, so specific imagery details should be confirmed by direct inspection.
What are the print's dimensions and edition size?
The source record lists Islam at 18 x 24 inches in a first edition of 100, published by Obey Giant in 1998 as a screen print.
Why is there limited information about this print?
The source record provides title, year, medium, dimensions, and edition but no description. As a result, this entry interprets the work cautiously through its place in Fairey's 1998 cohort rather than asserting specific imagery or intent.
How does it fit with Fairey's 1998 prints?
It is part of a 1998 group of 18 x 24 inch editions of 100, including Cop, Stalin, Grenade, and Mao. Within a collection it contributes completeness to this matched early Obey Giant series.
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.