Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Get A Job”?
Artist Statement
18 x 24 inch screen print, signed and numbered edition of 450. The first 200 are included in the Americana Box set (sold out). Limit 1 per person/household. $55. Release Date: 10/11/12 at a random time during the day PST
Summary
Get A Job is a 2012 screen print published by Obey Giant, signed and numbered in an edition of 450, measuring 18 x 24 inches. Per the source, the first 200 were included in the Americana Box Set, which sold out, and the release carried a limit of one per person or household at a $55 price. It was released on October 11, 2012, at a random time during the day Pacific time, as part of Fairey's Americana folk-song print cycle.
Why It Matters
Get A Job adds another entry to Fairey's Americana suite, its title echoing a classic of mid-century American song and continuing the project's tour through the nation's musical vernacular. Like its companions, the first 200 of the 450-print edition were folded into the Americana box sets, tying the standalone sheet directly to the larger collectible whole and tightening the supply that reached individual buyers. The one-per-household limit and timed-drop release reflect the controlled distribution Fairey used across the suite to spread availability among a broad collector base. Released at an accessible $55, it was built for reach rather than rarity-driven exclusivity, yet its box-set linkage gives it provenance within the project. Within Fairey's catalog, Get A Job matters as part of an interconnected family of song prints that together document his sustained 2012 engagement with American folk and popular music, reinforcing the breadth and thematic cohesion of the Americana cycle rather than standing as an isolated work.
Collector Perspective
Get A Job appeals to Americana-cycle and folk-music collectors assembling the song-print series, and to those who appreciate its accessible $55 release price and one-per-household original distribution. Its inclusion of the first 200 in the box sets gives it provenance within the project, and it hangs naturally in a grid with the other 2012 song-titled prints. As one of many interconnected releases, it is best valued as part of a larger Americana grouping, where its title and imagery contribute to a cohesive thematic wall rather than functioning as a standalone showpiece.
Historical Context
Released in mid-October 2012 by Obey Giant, Get A Job is part of Fairey's Americana project linked to the Neil Young and Crazy Horse album of reworked traditional songs. The title points to the American popular-song repertoire the suite engaged, and the edition structure, with the first 200 included in the sold-out box sets, mirrors the interconnected release strategy across the series. The one-per-household limit and randomized timed drop are characteristic of how Fairey managed these high-demand releases during a prolific music-driven stretch of his career, issuing staggered editions of several hundred each tied to a song.
FAQ
What is the edition size of Get A Job?
It is a signed and numbered edition of 450, published by Obey Giant in 2012, with the first 200 included in the now-sold-out Americana Box Set.
Were there purchase limits?
Yes. The source notes a limit of one per person or household for the release, at a price of $55.
When was it released?
It was released on October 11, 2012, at a random time during the day Pacific time, following the staggered timed-drop pattern of the Americana suite.
What are the dimensions and medium?
Get A Job is an 18 x 24 inch screen print, signed and numbered, per the source record.
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.