Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Eye Alert Cream”?
Artist Statement
Edition of 350 $45 Signed/Numbered 18 x 24? The Eye Alert poster is my response to the state of healthcare reform in the U.S. I'm disappointed that instead of focusing on saving lives and improving lives, healthcare reform is succumbing to corporate-fueled fear and disinformation. The healthcare industry is the largest in America, yet 30 million people —10% of our population — are left without the means to access medical care. We know that something needs to be done about our broken (or nonexistent) system, or costs will continue to skyrocket and more and more people will be left without access to healthcare. It's a moral issue and a human rights issue, but it looks like the people who have stood up for it have been outvoted by corporations and their lobbyists. It's a sad day in America. -Shepard
Summary
Eye Alert Cream is a 2010 Shepard Fairey screen print, 18 x 24 inches, a first edition of 350 published by Obey Giant. Released January 21, 2010 and signed and numbered at an original price of $45, the poster is Fairey's response to the state of U.S. healthcare reform. He voiced disappointment that reform was succumbing to corporate-fueled fear and disinformation, noting that the healthcare industry is the largest in America yet roughly 30 million people, about 10% of the population, lacked access to medical care. He called it a moral and human-rights issue. This Cream colorway presents that statement in Fairey's alert, propaganda-styled graphic idiom.
Why It Matters
Eye Alert Cream carries the same pointed political message as its Red counterpart, standing as one of Fairey's clearest interventions in the U.S. healthcare-reform debate. By his own account, the poster responds to reform succumbing to corporate-fueled fear and disinformation, and he frames access to care as a moral and human-rights issue, citing roughly 30 million Americans without medical access. For collectors, this firmly situates the print in Fairey's tradition of poster-as-argument, alongside his civil-rights and anti-corporate work. The Cream colorway is the softer-toned of the two variants, and many collectors pursue both Cream and Red to complete the pair. With an edition of 350, slightly tighter than his common 450 runs, it has a modestly limited footprint. The work's importance lies in documenting an artist engaging a specific, heated policy moment with the same conviction he brings to broader justice themes, while the surveillance-evoking eye motif underscores the watchful, alert framing. It serves as a solid anchor for collections centered on Fairey's human-rights and social-justice output, and as a complementary tonal alternative to the Red version.
Collector Perspective
This print suits collectors focused on Fairey's politically engaged and human-rights work, with the softer Cream palette offering a tonal alternative to the Red variant. The artist's own framing of healthcare access as a moral and human-rights issue gives it strong message-driven appeal, and the eye-centered composition reads boldly at 18 x 24 inches. Many collectors will want both colorways as a set. The edition of 350 is slightly tighter than many of his releases. It fits collections built around civil rights, social justice, corporate critique, and his issue-specific protest posters, and pairs most directly with the Eye Alert Red edition.
Historical Context
Released in January 2010 during the national healthcare-reform debate, Eye Alert Cream is tied by Fairey's own statement to that contested moment. It belongs to his post-2008 stream of issue-driven posters that applied his propaganda-derived graphic style to specific American policy fights. The edition of 350, smaller than his frequent 450 runs, and the dual-colorway format reflect his typical edition strategy. Thematically it sits with his civil-rights and anti-corporate work, reinforcing his role as an active commentator on contemporary U.S. politics through accessible, message-forward print editions.
FAQ
What is the message behind this print?
In Fairey's own statement, the Eye Alert poster is his response to U.S. healthcare reform. He expressed disappointment that reform was succumbing to corporate-fueled fear and disinformation, noted that roughly 30 million people, about 10% of the population, lacked access to medical care, and framed it as a moral and human-rights issue.
What is the edition size and format?
Eye Alert Cream is a first edition of 350, an 18 x 24 inch screen print published by Obey Giant. It was released on January 21, 2010, signed and numbered, at an original price of $45.
How does this differ from the Red version?
The Eye Alert image was issued in two colorways, Cream and Red. Both are editions of 350 at 18 x 24 inches, signed and numbered, and carry the same healthcare-reform statement. The difference is the palette; this is the softer-toned Cream version.
Where does this fit in Fairey's catalog?
It is one of his issue-specific protest posters, applying his propaganda-style graphics to the contemporary healthcare-reform debate. By framing care as a moral and human-rights matter and criticizing corporate influence, it aligns with his civil-rights, human-rights, and anti-corporate work.
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.