Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Wall Street Public Enemy”?
Artist Statement
The Wall Street Public Enemy print is a critique of the culture of greed and manipulation seen on Wall Street and in the banking system. Lack of oversight from the government that is beholden to Wall Street and the banking system in the wake of their lobbying and campaign contributions creates a system ripe for corruption and greed. Eventually, corruption and greed become so permitted that they simply become a culture. Wall Street wants to profit from the public by any means necessary, think a couple trillion in illegal toxic mortgage loan bundling which created the housing bubble and almost sank the world economy, so the only way to keep the practices more fair than corrupt is to have rigorous oversight by those who are meant to serve the public. The public needs to understand that an unregulated Wall Street and the banking system is their enemy! To avoid a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis, laws and regulations that support long-term value and punish reckless short-term profit grabs need to be implemented. Read this great Forbes piece for a deeper analysis. Thanks for caring. – Shepard Wall Street Public Enemy. 18 x 24 inches. Screenprint on cream Speckletone paper. Signed by Shepard Fairey. Numbered edition of 450. $45.
Summary
Wall Street Public Enemy is a 2017 Shepard Fairey screen print published by Obey Giant. It is a screen print on cream Speckletone paper measuring 18 x 24 inches, signed by Shepard Fairey in a numbered edition of 450 at $45. Per Fairey's accompanying text, the image is a critique of greed and manipulation in Wall Street and the banking system, arguing that lack of government oversight, driven by lobbying and campaign contributions, breeds corruption. He frames an unregulated financial system as a public enemy and calls for rigorous regulation to prevent another 2008-style crisis.
Why It Matters
Wall Street Public Enemy is one of Fairey's most pointed economic-justice statements, channeling his graphic propaganda style toward financial accountability. Fairey's own lengthy text leaves no ambiguity about intent: he indicts a 'culture of greed and manipulation' on Wall Street, ties weak oversight to lobbying and campaign money, and explicitly references the trillion-dollar toxic-mortgage bundling that fueled the housing bubble and nearly sank the global economy. By naming an unregulated financial system the public's 'enemy,' the print functions as agitprop in the classic Fairey mode, turning a poster into a civic argument for regulation that punishes reckless short-term profit-seeking. This places it firmly within his anti-corporate, pro-accountability body of work, a strand running from his consumerism critiques to his post-2008 political prints. As a signed edition of 450 at an accessible $45, it was built for reach rather than rarity, consistent with Fairey's strategy of putting message-driven art into many hands. For collectors, its value lies in the clarity and topicality of its message: it documents the post-financial-crisis political mood and Fairey's role as a visual commentator on economic power. It rewards buyers who collect his explicitly political, corporate-critique work over his music or portrait pieces, and it pairs naturally with his other consumerism-and-power editions from the same period.
Collector Perspective
This print appeals to collectors drawn to Fairey's overtly political, anti-corporate work and to those interested in art responding to the 2008 financial crisis and economic-justice themes. Its detailed artist statement gives it strong documentary and conversational appeal, making it a natural anchor for a politically themed collection. At 18 x 24 inches on cream Speckletone paper, it frames consistently alongside his other propaganda-style editions for a cohesive activist wall. With a numbered edition of 450 and an accessible $45 original price, it is approachable for collectors building a thematic set rather than chasing scarcity. It fits best within a political or corporate-critique grouping and complements his consumerism-and-power releases.
Historical Context
Released September 2017 by Obey Giant, Wall Street Public Enemy belongs to Fairey's sustained critique of corporate and financial power that intensified after the 2008 crisis. The print's text directly invokes that crisis, the toxic mortgage bundling, the housing bubble, and the near-collapse of the world economy, situating the work as a continuation of his economic-accountability messaging years after the crash. It sits among a dense run of 2017 Obey Giant editions in which Fairey addressed greed, consumption, and political corruption, reinforcing his enduring self-appointed role as a visual propagandist for civic engagement and regulatory reform rather than a maker of purely aesthetic objects.
FAQ
What is the message of Wall Street Public Enemy?
Per Fairey's text, the print critiques a culture of greed and manipulation in Wall Street and banking, links weak oversight to lobbying and campaign contributions, and calls an unregulated financial system the public's enemy. He urges regulation that punishes reckless short-term profit-seeking to avoid another 2008-style crisis.
Does the print reference the 2008 financial crisis?
Yes. Fairey's accompanying text explicitly references the toxic mortgage loan bundling that created the housing bubble and almost sank the world economy, citing the need for laws to prevent a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis. This grounds the print in post-crash economic-justice commentary.
What are the edition details?
It is a screen print on cream Speckletone paper, 18 x 24 inches, signed by Shepard Fairey in a numbered edition of 450, originally priced at $45. The accessible price and mid-size edition reflect Fairey's intent to put message-driven art into many hands.
Where does this fit in Fairey's body of work?
It belongs to Fairey's anti-corporate, pro-accountability political work, alongside his consumerism and power critiques. Issued in a busy 2017 run of Obey Giant editions tackling greed and corruption, it underscores his role as a visual commentator on economic and political power.
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.