Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Punk Rock Bowling”?
Artist Statement
I was very honored when Shawn Stern of Youth Brigade, BYO Records, and Punk Rock Bowling asked me to create the Punk Rock Bowling 20th anniversary poster and book cover. I've been a Youth Brigade fan since I heard their song "Did You Wanna Die" used in the first Bones Brigade video. The Youth Brigade album "Sound and Fury" is a hardcore classic. Shawn and Mark Stern of Youth Brigade also put out amazing music from 7 Seconds and SNFU through their label BYO. I'll, unfortunately, be in Vienna for an art show while Punk Rock Bowling is going, but attend the festival or at least pick up a print… PRB has been keeping it punk, fun, independent, and grimy for 20 years! -Shepard Punk Rock Bowling 20th. 18 x 24 inches. Screenprint on cream Speckle Tone paper. Signed by Shepard Fairey. Numbered edition of 500. $50.
Summary
Punk Rock Bowling is a 2018 Shepard Fairey screenprint, 18 x 24 inches on cream Speckle Tone paper, published by Obey Giant. It is signed and numbered in an edition of 500, released at $50. Fairey created the image as the Punk Rock Bowling 20th anniversary poster and book cover at the request of Shawn Stern of Youth Brigade and BYO Records. The work celebrates the festival's two decades of punk culture and reflects Fairey's long-standing fandom of Youth Brigade and the broader hardcore scene. It applies his graphic poster style to a music-and-counterculture subject.
Why It Matters
Punk Rock Bowling sits at the intersection of Fairey's two enduring engines: music fandom and graphic activism. Created as the official 20th-anniversary poster and book cover for the Punk Rock Bowling festival at the invitation of Youth Brigade's Shawn Stern, it is a genuine artifact of punk community history rather than a decorative homage. Fairey's own account, recalling Youth Brigade's Did You Wanna Die from the first Bones Brigade skate video and praising the Sound and Fury album and the BYO label, grounds the piece in real personal and cultural lineage. For collectors, that authenticity matters: this is Fairey lending his recognizable visual language to a scene that shaped him, in service of an independent, long-running festival he describes as keeping it punk, fun, and independent for 20 years. The edition of 500 makes it accessible, which suits its origins as a festival poster meant for fans. Its significance is as a music-and-counterculture document that connects Fairey's broad catalog of musician portraits and punk tributes to a specific institution. Within a collection it anchors a music-series grouping and underscores how thoroughly punk roots run through his career.
Collector Perspective
This print is ideal for collectors who build around music and counterculture, especially punk and hardcore. Its festival-poster origin, accessible original price, and edition of 500 make it attainable and meaningful for fans of Youth Brigade, BYO Records, and the wider scene. The 18 x 24 format frames easily and looks at home in a music room, studio, or collection wall alongside Fairey's musician tributes. It fits naturally into a music-series grouping, where it pairs with his portraits and band-related editions. Provenance-minded buyers will value that it is signed and numbered through Obey Giant and tied to a documented commission. It is best understood as an authentic, display-friendly piece of punk-festival history rather than a high-end centerpiece.
Historical Context
Punk Rock Bowling reflects the music-and-counterculture strand that has run through Fairey's work since his earliest punk-influenced art. By 2018 he was an established artist regularly producing posters and editions for bands, festivals, and music institutions, and this commission for the festival's 20th anniversary fits squarely in that practice. His narrative ties the piece to formative experiences, hearing Youth Brigade in a Bones Brigade skate video and following BYO Records artists like 7 Seconds and SNFU, linking his personal history to a broader punk community. The work sits among many related music editions in his catalog, from punk tributes to musician portraits. Rather than a stylistic shift, it consolidates his ongoing role as a chronicler and supporter of independent music culture, lending his graphic identity to a scene that helped shape his own.
FAQ
What was this print made for?
Fairey created it as the Punk Rock Bowling 20th anniversary poster and book cover, at the request of Shawn Stern of Youth Brigade, BYO Records, and Punk Rock Bowling. It celebrates two decades of the independent punk festival.
What is the connection to Youth Brigade?
Fairey describes himself as a longtime Youth Brigade fan since hearing 'Did You Wanna Die' in the first Bones Brigade skate video, and praises their album 'Sound and Fury' and the BYO label's releases from bands like 7 Seconds and SNFU.
What are its specifications?
It is an 18 x 24 inch screenprint on cream Speckle Tone paper, signed by Shepard Fairey and numbered in an edition of 500. It was published by Obey Giant in 2018 at an original release price of $50.
Who is this print best suited for?
It suits collectors of music and counterculture, particularly punk and hardcore fans, and admirers of Punk Rock Bowling. As an authentic festival-poster commission it carries documented cultural provenance within Fairey's music output.
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.