Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Society Of Destruction”?
Artist Statement
18 x 24 inch screen print on cream speckle tone paper. Signed and numbered edition of 450. $45.
Summary
Society Of Destruction is a 2015 screen print published by Obey Giant. It measures 18 x 24 inches and is printed on cream speckle tone paper. The work is signed and numbered in an edition of 450 and was released at $45. The source provides only basic production details and no artist statement, so the print's specific imagery and message are not described in the available data, though its title points toward themes of societal critique consistent with Fairey's broader body of work.
Why It Matters
Society Of Destruction is a mid-2010s Obey Giant screen print whose title gestures toward Fairey's recurring critiques of consumption, conflict, and societal collapse, themes that recur across his catalog. Because the source supplies only production facts and no statement, its precise meaning should be read cautiously, but it sits comfortably within a cluster of similarly titled 2015-2017 releases that address destruction, denial, and overconsumption. For collectors, the appeal is its place in that thematic family and its relatively contained edition of 450 at an accessible original price. It is best understood as part of a series-minded grouping rather than as a standalone landmark, and its lower documented detail means its importance is more contextual than singular. The cream speckletone stock and standard 18 x 24 format are consistent with Fairey's everyday Obey Giant releases from this period, making it a representative, affordable example of his output rather than a marquee piece.
Collector Perspective
This print suits collectors assembling a broad survey of Fairey's Obey Giant releases or a thematic grouping around societal critique and consumption. Its accessible original price of $45 and standard 18 x 24 format make it an approachable entry point rather than a centerpiece. It displays cleanly alongside related destruction- and consumption-themed prints and fits collections organized by year or by Fairey's social-commentary motifs. Because the source offers limited descriptive detail, buyers should treat its specific message cautiously and rely on the verified facts: a signed, numbered edition of 450 on cream speckletone paper.
Historical Context
Society Of Destruction belongs to Fairey's steady stream of Obey Giant screen prints in the mid-2010s, a period in which he regularly released affordable, signed, numbered editions addressing consumption, conflict, and social decay. Its title aligns it with a recurring strand of critique in his catalog that questions the costs of an acquisitive, destabilized society. Without an accompanying statement in the source, its exact place is best framed by this thematic neighborhood rather than a documented event. The standard format, cream speckletone paper, and edition size are typical of his routine Obey Giant output during the Modern Activism period of his career.
FAQ
What are the production details of Society Of Destruction?
It is an 18 x 24 inch screen print on cream speckle tone paper, published by Obey Giant in 2015. The source confirms it is signed and numbered in an edition of 450 and was released at $45.
What does the print depict?
The available source provides only basic production details and no artist statement, so the specific imagery is not described. The title points toward themes of societal critique, but the exact subject and message should be treated cautiously based on the data on hand.
How large is the edition?
Society Of Destruction is a signed and numbered edition of 450. It was published by Obey Giant in 2015 and released at $45.
How does it fit Fairey's catalog?
It is part of Fairey's mid-2010s Obey Giant screen-print output and, by its title, aligns with his recurring critiques of consumption and societal decay. It pairs naturally with similarly themed releases from the same period in a social-commentary grouping.
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.