Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Raise The Caliber - Rise Above”?
Artist Statement
18 x 24 inch screen print on cream speckle tone paper. Signed and numbered edition of 350. $55. "I'm always on board to help out a program that can make something beautiful out of something so raw and threatening. I think creative literal transformation is a great metaphor for spiritual transformation toward peace and harmony . I'm collaborating with the Caliber Foundation because I wholly believe in the ideology of the organization – to offer support to victims, families and communities that have been devastated by illegal gun violence. As a culture we hear about guns all too often, but there is an insidious amount of ILLEGAL guns that are making their way into people's hands without any regulation or control." – Shepard Fairey
Summary
Raise The Caliber - Rise Above is a 2015 screen print published by Obey Giant, printed on cream speckle tone paper as a signed and numbered first edition of 350. It measures 18 x 24 inches and was released at an original price of $55. Per Fairey's statement, the print was made in collaboration with the Caliber Foundation, which supports victims, families, and communities affected by illegal gun violence. Fairey describes the project as transforming something raw and threatening into something beautiful, a metaphor for peace and harmony.
Why It Matters
Raise The Caliber - Rise Above is grounded in a documented collaboration with the Caliber Foundation, an organization Fairey's statement describes as supporting victims, families, and communities devastated by illegal gun violence. That partnership makes the print an explicit advocacy and fundraising object addressing gun violence, a subject Fairey returns to less often than peace or environmental themes, which gives it distinct positioning. The Rise Above element connects it to one of Fairey's signature mottos and visual programs, layering his established iconography onto the anti-gun-violence message. Fairey's quoted framing, turning something raw and threatening into something beautiful as a metaphor for spiritual transformation toward peace, provides a clear artist-stated rationale. At an edition of 350 it is mid-sized for his catalog. For a database, the differentiators are the named Caliber Foundation collaboration, the gun-violence subject, and the Rise Above tie-in, all source-supported. Collectors focused on Fairey's peace, justice, and collaboration-driven work will see this as a substantive cause-linked statement piece.
Collector Perspective
This print draws collectors interested in Fairey's peace and anti-violence messaging and in editions tied to named organizations; the source documents the Caliber Foundation collaboration around illegal gun violence. The Rise Above branding appeals to those who follow that recurring Fairey motif. At 18 x 24 inches on cream speckle paper, it frames well and pairs naturally with the companion Raise The Caliber print and other 2015 releases. The numbered edition of 350 makes it limited yet accessible. It fits collections organized around social justice, peace themes, or Fairey's collaboration-driven projects. Buyers who value a documented artist statement explaining the work's intent will find the included Fairey quote adds context and meaning.
Historical Context
Released December 2015 under Obey Giant, this print sits within Fairey's mid-2010s body of cause-linked collaborations. The documented partnership with the Caliber Foundation places it among his works addressing gun violence, expanding the social-justice range of his catalog beyond his more frequent peace and environmental themes. By attaching the Rise Above motto, Fairey connects the new project to one of his longest-running visual and rhetorical programs, reinforcing continuity across his output. Printed on cream speckle tone paper, it belongs to a cohesive cluster of 2015 releases and is closely paired with the standalone Raise The Caliber edition from the same period. The print reflects Fairey channeling his established iconography toward a specific contemporary social problem.
FAQ
What organization is this print tied to?
Per Fairey's statement, the print was made in collaboration with the Caliber Foundation, which offers support to victims, families, and communities devastated by illegal gun violence. Fairey says he believes in the organization's ideology, framing the project as a stand against unregulated illegal guns.
What does the artist say the work means?
Fairey describes turning something raw and threatening into something beautiful as a metaphor for spiritual transformation toward peace and harmony. He frames the collaboration as creative literal transformation that mirrors a move toward peace.
What are the edition details?
It is a signed and numbered first edition of 350, measuring 18 x 24 inches, printed on cream speckle tone paper. It was released through Obey Giant in 2015 at an original price of $55.
How does it relate to the other Raise The Caliber print?
This Rise Above version is part of the same 2015 Raise The Caliber project and Caliber Foundation collaboration as the standalone Raise The Caliber edition, with this one incorporating Fairey's Rise Above motif.
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.