Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Vive Le Rock”?
Artist Statement
18 x 24 inch screen print. Signed and numbered edition of 450. $45 Release Date: Tuesday July 10, 2012 at 2 random times.
Summary
Vive Le Rock is a 2012 signed and numbered screen print by Shepard Fairey, measuring 18 x 24 inches in a first edition of 450, released through Obey Giant at $45. The title and imagery celebrate rock music and counterculture, a recurring strand in Fairey's work that links his graphic style to punk and music history. Rendered in his characteristic high-contrast palette and decorative framing, the print sits within his music-themed output, pairing bold typography and iconography in the accessible standard-edition format common to his Obey Giant releases.
Why It Matters
Vive Le Rock taps directly into the music-and-counterculture vein that runs throughout Shepard Fairey's career, drawing on the punk and rock heritage that shaped his visual sensibility from the start. The phrase itself carries punk lineage, and Fairey's use of it places the print within his long tradition of homages to music subculture, a thread that connects his graphic design to the album art, gig posters, and band tributes scattered across his catalog. As a signed and numbered edition of 450 at an accessible release price, it belongs to the broadly available tier of his output, intended to circulate his music imagery widely rather than function as a scarce collectible. For collectors, that makes it an approachable, recognizable example of his music-themed work, ideal for those building a holding around Fairey's intersection with rock and punk culture. The print reinforces how consistently the artist has folded music celebration into his activist-rooted practice, and it sits comfortably alongside his many other sound- and band-themed releases, offering a focused entry into one of the most enduring and personally meaningful subjects in his work.
Collector Perspective
This is a strong fit for collectors who organize their holdings around Fairey's music and counterculture work or who simply love rock and punk imagery. The edition of 450 and standard 18 x 24 inch size make it an accessible, signed-and-numbered entry rather than a scarce object, well suited to music-themed wall groupings. Its celebratory rock subject and bold graphic palette display energetically and pair naturally with Fairey's many sound- and band-related prints. Buyers assembling a music-focused subset of the OBEY catalog, or seeking an affordable signed example of his counterculture homages, will find it a natural addition.
Historical Context
Released in July 2012, Vive Le Rock belongs to Fairey's steady stream of music-themed prints, a strand that reflects his formative immersion in punk and rock culture. The title nods to punk heritage, situating the work within his ongoing tributes to the music subcultures that influenced his graphic language. Issued as a standard signed-and-numbered edition of 450 through Obey Giant, it exemplifies how he wove music celebration into his broader, activism-rooted catalog during the early 2010s. Within his arc, it represents the dependable music homages that ran parallel to his political and collaborative releases, underscoring music as a constant reference point across his career.
FAQ
What is Vive Le Rock?
It is a 2012 signed and numbered screen print by Shepard Fairey measuring 18 x 24 inches, released in a first edition of 450 through Obey Giant. The title and imagery celebrate rock music and counterculture.
How large is the edition?
It is a numbered edition of 450, placing it in the accessible, widely available tier of Fairey's music-themed screen prints rather than among his scarce releases.
What was the release format?
It was released on Tuesday, July 10, 2012 at two random times, priced at $45, consistent with Fairey's standard Obey Giant drop model for signed and numbered editions.
How does it fit Fairey's broader work?
It belongs to his ongoing music and counterculture homages, a recurring strand reflecting his roots in punk and rock culture and connecting his graphic design to music history.
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.