Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Obey Media Target”?
Artist Statement
18 inches by 24 inches Screen Print. Numbered Edition of 450. Signed by Shepard Fairey. $45
Summary
Obey Media Target is an 18-by-24-inch screen print published by Obey Giant in 2016, issued in a numbered edition of 450 and signed by Shepard Fairey. The work combines Fairey's OBEY iconography with a critique of consumerism and power, its title pointing to media as a focus of scrutiny. Rendered in his graphic, propaganda-influenced vocabulary, it pairs the recognizable OBEY brand language with target imagery to comment on media influence and control. The standard format and mid-size edition make it an accessible signed example of Fairey's media-and-power commentary.
Why It Matters
Obey Media Target distills two central pillars of Shepard Fairey's practice: the OBEY iconography that launched his career and his sustained critique of consumerism and concentrated power. By placing media at the center, signaled in both title and imagery, the work engages a theme of particular resonance, the role of media in shaping perception and control, that aligns with the surveillance- and propaganda-adjacent concerns running through his catalog. The print's propaganda-influenced graphic style turns the visual language of mass communication back on itself, a strategy that has defined Fairey's work since the OBEY campaign. For collectors, the piece offers a clear thematic anchor among his power- and media-critique releases, pairing naturally with titles like Palace of Power and Obey Royal Treatment. Issued through Obey Giant in 2016 as a signed, numbered edition of 450, it carries standard collectible credentials at an accessible scale. Its significance lies in how directly it fuses brand iconography with media critique, making the commentary explicit rather than incidental. That clarity of message, combined with the recognizable OBEY visual identity, gives the work strong differentiating appeal for collectors building around Fairey's themes of media, power, and propaganda.
Collector Perspective
This print appeals to collectors drawn to Fairey's OBEY brand language and his media-and-power critique, offering an explicit thematic statement at an accessible level. It anchors a grouping of his power- and consumerism-focused works, pairing well with related power and royal-treatment titles. The standard 18-by-24-inch format, signed status, and edition of 450 make it easy to display and approachable in price, suiting both newer collectors and those deepening a theme-based collection. Buyers who value the recognizable OBEY iconography and Fairey's propaganda-style commentary on media influence will find it a strong, message-forward addition that reads clearly on a wall and groups naturally with his political output.
Historical Context
Obey Media Target sits within Fairey's mid-2010s body of work, released through Obey Giant in 2016, a period in which his critique of media, consumerism, and concentrated power grew more pointed. The work extends the OBEY iconography that has defined his practice since the late-1980s sticker campaign, applying it to a media-focused subject. It belongs alongside contemporaneous power- and consumerism-themed releases such as Palace of Power and the Obey Royal Treatment series, forming part of a recognizable thread in which Fairey repurposes the visual language of propaganda and branding to comment on media influence and institutional control.
FAQ
What does Obey Media Target address?
The work combines Fairey's OBEY iconography with a critique of consumerism and power, with media as its focus. The title and target imagery point to media influence and control as the subject, rendered in his propaganda-influenced graphic style.
What are the size and edition details?
It is an 18-by-24-inch screen print, issued in a numbered edition of 450 and signed by Shepard Fairey. It was published by Obey Giant in 2016. The standard format and mid-size edition make it an accessible signed example of his work.
Is the print signed?
Yes. According to the source, Obey Media Target is signed by Shepard Fairey and was published by Obey Giant in 2016 as a screen print, carrying the standard signed-and-numbered collectibility of his releases.
How does it fit with Fairey's other work?
It belongs to his power- and consumerism-critique output, pairing naturally with titles like Palace of Power and the Obey Royal Treatment series. The use of OBEY iconography ties it directly to the brand language that has defined his career.
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.