Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Obedience Problems Collage”?
Artist Statement
OBEDIENCE PROBLEMS COLLAGE Screen Print 18 x 24 inches Edition of 100
Summary
Obedience Problems Collage is a 1999 screen print, 18 x 24 inches, published by Obey Giant in a first edition of 100. The title indicates a collage treatment, and it is catalogued as the companion to the standard Obedience Problems print of the same year. The source provides only the title, medium, dimensions, and edition size, with no description of the specific imagery. It belongs to Fairey's late-1990s Obey Giant screen prints, filed within his collaborations and pop-culture strand, and reflects his use of layered collage aesthetics within the OBEY/obedience theme.
Why It Matters
Obedience Problems Collage matters as the collage counterpart to Fairey's Obedience Problems, showing how he reworked a single concept across formats during his prolific late-1990s Obey Giant years. The collage approach is central to Fairey's broader practice, layering torn-paper, propaganda, and street-poster textures, and this title's name signals that treatment even though the source omits a full description. As a 1999 first edition of 100, it sits among the small early editions collectors track when building a chronological view of his work, and its explicit pairing with the standard version makes it especially appealing to those who like to display related works together. The obedience and propaganda motifs in the title connect it to the OBEY campaign that grew from the Andre the Giant sticker project. For a knowledge graph, the responsible value lies in noting the collage format implied by the title and the documented companion relationship, while avoiding invented claims about the precise imagery. Collectors interested in Fairey's collage technique and in completing thematic pairs will find this a meaningful, if sparsely documented, early edition.
Collector Perspective
Obedience Problems Collage appeals to collectors drawn to Fairey's collage aesthetic and to those assembling thematic pairs, since it directly companions the standard Obedience Problems print. With a first edition of 100, it is a modest-run early piece that fits a chronological Obey Giant grouping. The collage format implied by its title gives it textural, layered visual interest, though the source provides no description, so buyers should review images before purchase. For display, it pairs naturally with the non-collage version and with other late-1990s prints, where the shared obedience theme and the collage treatment create a coherent grouping.
Historical Context
Obedience Problems Collage dates to 1999, within Fairey's busy late-1990s Obey Giant screen-printing period. The collage format reflects a technique he used throughout his career to layer propaganda and street-poster textures, and the title ties it to the OBEY/obedience motif. The catalog pairs it with the standard Obedience Problems, showing Fairey developing a concept across formats in the same year. With no descriptive detail in the source beyond date, medium, and edition size, its specific place in his arc rests on those facts and on the collage cue in its name.
FAQ
What is Obedience Problems Collage?
It is a 1999 Shepard Fairey screen print, 18 x 24 inches, published by Obey Giant in a first edition of 100. The title indicates a collage treatment, and it is catalogued as the companion to the standard Obedience Problems print.
How does it relate to Obedience Problems?
The catalog lists it as the collage version of the same 1999 title, indicating Fairey worked the concept in both a standard and a collage format that year.
How large is the edition?
The source lists a first edition of 100, published by Obey Giant. No additional editions are noted in the record.
What are the dimensions and medium?
Obedience Problems Collage is a screen print measuring 18 x 24 inches, according to the source record. The imagery itself is not described in the source.
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.