Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Learn To Obey (Damaged Stencil Series)”?
Artist Statement
This was 1 out of 8 prints released in the Damaged Stencil Series. The set was $160 and included 8 prints
Summary
Learn To Obey is a 2017 offset lithograph by Shepard Fairey, published by Obey Giant as part of the Damaged Stencil Series. It measures 18 x 24 inches and was one of 8 prints released in that series; the full set was priced at $160 and the edition is listed at 400. The title plays on Fairey's foundational OBEY command, turning the slogan into a wry instruction about obedience and consumer culture. The source description is limited, noting mainly its place within the 8-print Damaged Stencil set, so interpretation leans cautiously on the title, the OBEY motif, and the series context.
Why It Matters
Learn To Obey draws its charge from the single word that launched Shepard Fairey's entire career: OBEY. By framing the imperative as something to be learned, the print extends Fairey's long-running interrogation of obedience, authority, and consumer conditioning, the same provocation that powered his original sticker and propaganda campaigns. Here it is folded into the 2017 Damaged Stencil Series, one of eight prints released together as part of the DAMAGED body of work, and offered as a set priced at $160. That series context matters: the print was conceived as one voice in a coordinated chorus rather than a standalone statement, and its meaning is amplified when read alongside its companion prints. The OBEY iconography and the stencil framing root the work firmly in Fairey's foundational visual language, the street-art vocabulary of command, repetition, and ironic authority. For collectors, the appeal lies in owning a piece of that recognizable OBEY lineage within a defined exhibition series. The source detail is limited, so the specific image is not fully described here, and the work is best understood through its title, the OBEY motif, and its place in the 8-print Damaged Stencil grouping rather than as a fully documented standalone image.
Collector Perspective
Learn To Obey appeals to collectors drawn to Fairey's foundational OBEY iconography and to those completing the 8-print Damaged Stencil Series. Its place within a defined set makes it especially attractive to collectors who value series completeness and the DAMAGED-period context. At 18 x 24 inches, it is a displayable, recognizable Fairey object built on his signature command motif. Because the source detail on the specific image is limited, it is best approached as one part of the larger stencil set. It pairs naturally with the other Damaged Stencil prints and with Fairey's broader OBEY and power-themed works.
Historical Context
Learn To Obey sits within Fairey's 2017 DAMAGED body of work as one of eight prints in the Damaged Stencil Series, offered as a coordinated set. Its title reaches back to the OBEY command that has anchored Fairey's practice since his earliest street campaigns, reframing that foundational provocation within a later, exhibition-driven release. Within his arc, the work reflects how Fairey continued to mine and recontextualize his core OBEY iconography across decades. The source documentation here is limited to series and production details, so the print is best situated through its OBEY lineage and its membership in the 8-print stencil grouping rather than a detailed standalone record.
FAQ
Is Learn To Obey part of a series?
Yes. It was one of 8 prints released in the Damaged Stencil Series in 2017. The full set was priced at $160 and included all eight prints, so the work was conceived as one part of a coordinated grouping rather than a standalone release.
What does the title reference?
The title plays on Fairey's foundational OBEY command, reframing the imperative as something to be learned. It continues his long-running interrogation of obedience, authority, and consumer conditioning that has anchored his work since his earliest campaigns.
What are the print's specifications?
Learn To Obey is an offset lithograph measuring 18 x 24 inches, published by Obey Giant in 2017 as part of the Damaged Stencil Series, with the edition listed at 400.
How much detail is available about the specific image?
The source description is limited, noting mainly its place within the 8-print Damaged Stencil set. The work is best understood through its title, the OBEY motif, and its series context rather than a fully documented image-specific record.
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.