Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “San Francisco Banner Poster”?
Artist Statement
SAN FRANCISCO BANNER POSTER Screen Print 18 x 24 inches Edition of 200
Summary
San Francisco Banner Poster is a 2000 screen print published by Obey Giant in a first edition of 200, measuring 18 x 24 inches. The source provides only minimal cataloguing detail beyond title, medium, dimensions, and edition. As a banner-style poster referencing San Francisco, it appears to align with Fairey's place-based and decorative banner works from this period, rendered in his flat, high-contrast graphic style. Without a fuller description, the specific imagery is best read cautiously as a city-referencing banner design.
Why It Matters
San Francisco Banner Poster connects to Fairey's recurring use of the banner format and to his engagement with specific cities, here San Francisco, a place central to West Coast street-art culture and to his own exhibition and mural history. The banner device, which he uses elsewhere for the Mao Banner and other works, lends a decorative, flag-like quality that distinguishes these prints from his portrait and propaganda subjects. With limited source description, its significance is best stated cautiously: it is a representative place-referencing banner work rather than a documented landmark. For collectors, the appeal lies in the first edition of 200 and its fit within a group of his city-themed and banner prints, including the later Chinese San Francisco. The banner format and San Francisco subject give it a locational, decorative character that suits collectors building around place or around Fairey's ornamental compositions. As one node in his banner and city-referencing output, it offers an on-brand acquisition, though firm claims about its specific design should await fuller documentation.
Collector Perspective
This print appeals to collectors interested in Fairey's banner-format works and in city-referencing pieces, particularly those with a San Francisco connection. With a first edition of 200, it is a relatively accessible release suited to collectors building a place-based or decorative-banner grouping. At 18 x 24 inches it frames easily and pairs naturally with works like Chinese San Francisco and the Mao Banner. Because the source description is sparse, collectors should verify the specific imagery before relying on it. Its appeal is largely contextual and locational: a representative example of Fairey's ornamental, place-referencing banner work from the 2000 studio period, attractive to those who value locality and decorative composition.
Historical Context
San Francisco Banner Poster dates to 2000 and sits within the Posters and Propaganda phase, when Fairey's Obey Giant studio was producing a steady run of screen prints, including place-referencing and banner-format works. San Francisco holds particular significance in West Coast street-art and skate culture and in Fairey's own exhibition history, giving the city subject a meaningful backdrop. The banner format recurs across his output, lending a decorative, flag-like quality he revisited in works such as the Mao Banner and the later Chinese San Francisco. Coming after his foundational sticker and wheatpaste campaigns, the print reflects the broadening of his subject matter toward place and ornament. With limited documentation, its precise role is best stated cautiously, but it is consistent with the era's varied studio output.
FAQ
What is the edition size of San Francisco Banner Poster?
It is a first edition of 200, published by Obey Giant in 2000. The edition size, title, medium, and dimensions are all stated in the source record.
What are the dimensions and medium?
It is a screen print measuring 18 x 24 inches, consistent with Fairey's other Obey Giant prints from the same year. These details come directly from the source.
What does the print depict?
The source provides only the title and basic cataloguing data without a descriptive narrative. The title indicates a banner-style poster referencing San Francisco, but the specific imagery is not detailed in the record.
How does it relate to his other city works?
The San Francisco subject connects it to later city-themed pieces such as Chinese San Francisco, while the banner format links it to works like the Mao Banner. These ties make it a logical fit for a place-based or banner 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.