Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Endless Power Handbook”?
Artist Statement
18 x 24 inch screen print on cream speckle tone paper. Signed and numbered edition of 450. $45.
Summary
Endless Power Handbook is a 2015 Shepard Fairey screen print, published by Obey Giant on October 6, 2015. It measures 18 x 24 inches, printed on cream speckle tone paper, and was issued as a signed and numbered first edition of 450 at $45. The title and imagery engage Fairey's recurring themes of consumerism and power, framing the pursuit of endless power as a kind of instruction manual. Rendered in his high-contrast, propaganda-influenced graphic style, it belongs to his mid-decade run of message-driven Obey Giant screen prints.
Why It Matters
Endless Power Handbook matters as an accessible Obey Giant screen print that distills Fairey's critique of consumerism and the endless pursuit of power into a single, pointed image. The 'handbook' framing is characteristic Fairey irony, presenting the drive for limitless power as something codified and instructional, the way propaganda systematizes belief. The record explicitly attaches both pop-culture-critique and consumerism-and-power themes to the work, placing it squarely within his ongoing interrogation of how power and consumption reinforce one another. At a $45 issue price and an edition of 450, it was made to circulate broadly rather than to function as a scarce trophy, fitting Fairey's populist, message-first approach. The 'endless power' motif recurs across his catalog in related editions and formats, so this print reads as one node in a larger, evolving meditation on the theme. As a hand-signed and numbered screen print on speckle tone paper, it offers the editioned credibility serious collectors look for while remaining approachable for those building a thematically coherent Fairey grouping around power and consumption.
Collector Perspective
Endless Power Handbook suits collectors focused on Fairey's social-critique work who want an affordable, hand-signed screen print rather than a high-ticket fine-art edition. At a $45 issue price and edition of 450, it fits newer collectors and those assembling a themed grouping around power and consumerism. The 18 x 24 inch format frames easily and displays well in a series, especially alongside the other 'power'-themed editions Fairey produced across multiple years and formats. Its cream speckle tone paper and signed-and-numbered status provide editioned credibility, while the moderate edition keeps it within reach. It is a strong building block for a consumerism-and-power-focused Fairey collection that values thematic continuity over scarcity.
Historical Context
Endless Power Handbook dates to October 2015, part of Fairey's steady output of Obey Giant screen prints sharpening his critique of power and consumer capitalism. By this point his propaganda-derived visual language was fully mature, and the 'endless power' motif had become a recurring thread he revisited across editions, letterpress versions, and special collaborations over several years. The print reflects his strategy of issuing accessible, editioned screen prints that broadcast a message widely while sustaining his independent Obey Giant operation. It sits among same-period works exploring related themes, marking a phase in which Fairey developed and reworked core motifs across multiple releases and formats.
FAQ
What themes does this print address?
The record attaches both Fairey's pop-culture critique and consumerism-and-power themes to it. The 'handbook' title frames the pursuit of endless power as something codified and instructional, in keeping with Fairey's ironic, propaganda-influenced approach.
What is the edition size?
It is a signed and numbered first edition of 450, published by Obey Giant in 2015. Each print is hand-signed by Shepard Fairey and numbered, placing it among his moderately sized mid-decade screen print releases.
What are the dimensions and materials?
The print measures 18 x 24 inches and is a screen print on cream speckle tone paper. The speckle tone stock is a recurring choice in Fairey's Obey Giant screen prints from this period and gives the surface a warm, textured ground.
Is 'Endless Power' a recurring motif?
Yes. The Endless Power motif appears across related Fairey works, including an earlier Art Alliance edition and a later letterpress version. This 2015 screen print is one node in an evolving series of treatments of the same theme across formats.
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.