Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Black Keys Turn Blue”?
Artist Statement
After creating the posters for the Black Keys shows at Madison Square Gardens in 2012, I was honored to be asked to do the LA Forum poster for the band’s Turn Blue tour. The Black Keys are one of my favorite bands and they have been making consistently great albums. Their newest, Turn Blue, rocks as always, but has a brooding, soulful, psychedelic side as well. I love the art for the album, designed by Patrick Carney’s brother Michael, so I decided I should riff off of that art and color palette for my show poster. I’m very happy with how the black, metallic silver, electric blue, and pink work together on the grey paper. Jake Bugg is excellent also, so I’m looking forward to the show. -Shepard 18 x 24 inch screen print, numbered edition of 600. Signed by Shepard Fairey. Limit 1 per person / household. $45. Release date: Thursday November 6, 2014
Summary
Black Keys Turn Blue is a 2014 Shepard Fairey screen print made as the band's LA Forum show poster for The Black Keys' Turn Blue tour. It measures 18 x 24 inches and is a signed and numbered first edition of 600 at a $45 release price, limited to one per person or household. Released November 6, 2014, the print riffs on the Turn Blue album art designed by Michael Carney, using a palette of black, metallic silver, electric blue, and pink on grey paper. Fairey's release text describes The Black Keys as one of his favorite bands and his pleasure at being asked to create the poster.
Why It Matters
Black Keys Turn Blue is a concert poster collaboration that captures Fairey's deep, ongoing engagement with rock music and his practice of designing show posters for bands he admires. The source quotes Fairey describing The Black Keys as one of his favorite bands and recounting how he riffed on the Turn Blue album art by Michael Carney, the brother of the band's drummer, giving the print a documented creative lineage tied directly to the album's visual identity. That connection to a specific 2014 concert at the LA Forum, and to an acclaimed album, gives the work appeal to both art collectors and music fans. The distinctive palette of black, metallic silver, electric blue, and pink on grey paper, detailed in the source, makes it visually unusual within his catalog and reflects his stated effort to match the album's brooding, psychedelic tone. At an edition of 600 and a $45 release price, it is an accessible entry point. For a database, it documents Fairey's tour-poster work as a distinct and prolific category, where collaborations with major bands produce sought-after crossover objects valued in both art and music memorabilia markets.
Collector Perspective
This poster appeals strongly to music memorabilia collectors and Black Keys fans, as well as to Fairey collectors who focus on his concert and tour posters. Tied to a specific 2014 LA Forum show and the Turn Blue album, it carries crossover appeal that broadens its audience beyond fine-art buyers. At an accessible original price and standard 18 x 24 inch size, it is approachable for newer collectors, and its unusual palette of metallic silver, electric blue, and pink on grey paper makes it a striking display piece. It fits a collection organized around Fairey's music series and concert posters, pairing naturally with his other band and musician prints. The edition of 600 keeps it relatively available.
Historical Context
Black Keys Turn Blue belongs to Fairey's prolific output of concert and tour posters, a category in which he repeatedly collaborates with bands he admires. The source notes he had previously created posters for the band's 2012 Madison Square Garden shows before being asked to do this LA Forum poster for the Turn Blue tour. Released in 2014, it reflects his method of responding to a band's existing album art, here riffing on Michael Carney's Turn Blue design, rather than imposing a fixed style. Within his arc, it sits among his many mid-2010s music collaborations and demonstrates his integration into the rock world as a go-to poster artist, extending the music-and-counterculture thread that runs throughout his career.
FAQ
What is Black Keys Turn Blue?
It is a 2014 Shepard Fairey screen print made as the LA Forum show poster for The Black Keys' Turn Blue tour. It measures 18 x 24 inches and was a signed and numbered edition of 600 at a $45 release price, released November 6, 2014, limited to one per person or household.
What is the color palette?
Per Fairey's release text, the print uses black, metallic silver, electric blue, and pink printed on grey paper. He described being happy with how those colors work together and aimed to match the album's brooding, soulful, psychedelic tone.
How is it connected to the band's album?
Fairey states he riffed on the art and color palette of the Turn Blue album, which was designed by Michael Carney, the brother of drummer Patrick Carney. He also notes he had created posters for the band's 2012 Madison Square Garden shows.
How large is the edition?
The source describes it as a signed and numbered edition of 600, with a one-per-household limit and a $45 release price, placing it in the accessible tier of Fairey's concert posters.
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.