Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Guns And Roses (Large Format)”?
Artist Statement
Inspired by a Chinese propaganda poster created during the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966 – 1976) in the People's Republic of China, Fairey transforms the work's revolutionary motif into a new contemporary anti-war message. The poster was a call-to-action for the formation of a Communist army, believing that military might was necessary to gaining political advantage. Guns and Roses. Serigraph on Coventry Rag, 100% Cotton Custom Archival Paper with hand-deckled edges. 30 x 41 inches. Signed by Shepard Fairey. Numbered edition of 89. Comes with a certificate of authenticity. $900.
Summary
Guns And Roses is a 2019 large-format screen print by Shepard Fairey, published by Obey Giant in a signed, numbered edition of 89, measuring 30 x 41 inches on Coventry Rag 100% cotton archival paper with hand-deckled edges. The image is inspired by a Chinese propaganda poster from the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), which originally served as a call to form a Communist army on the belief that military might was necessary for political advantage. Fairey transforms that revolutionary motif into a contemporary anti-war message, repurposing the visual language of state propaganda to argue against, rather than for, militarism.
Why It Matters
Guns And Roses is a clear demonstration of Fairey's signature method: appropriating the aesthetics of historical propaganda and inverting their meaning. By drawing directly on a Chinese Cultural Revolution poster that glorified military power, Fairey turns its revolutionary motif into a contemporary anti-war statement, exposing how the same graphic tools that once mobilized armies can be redirected toward peace. This act of détournement is central to his practice and gives the print both art-historical depth and immediate political punch. The juxtaposition implied by the title, weapons against flowers, echoes a long lineage of anti-war imagery while remaining distinctly Fairey in its bold, poster-derived graphic style. Released in 2019 as a signed, numbered large-format edition of 89 on hand-deckled cotton rag, the work carries fine-print presentation and relative scarcity. For collectors, it represents the propaganda-inspired core of Fairey's output and his ongoing engagement with anti-war themes. Its grounding in a specific source poster makes it a strong teaching piece about appropriation as artistic strategy, illustrating how Fairey builds new contemporary meaning on the creative foundations of predecessors.
Collector Perspective
This print suits collectors who gravitate to Fairey's propaganda-inspired, politically pointed work and his anti-war thread. The transformation of a historical Chinese propaganda poster into a contemporary peace statement gives it strong narrative appeal for collectors who value provenance of imagery and conceptual depth. At 30 x 41 inches on hand-deckled cotton rag, it presents as a substantial graphic statement piece. The numbered edition of 89 places it among Fairey's more limited large-format releases. It pairs naturally with other 2019 large-format anti-war prints for those assembling a cohesive set, and fits collections organized around propaganda critique, anti-war messaging, or appropriation as method.
Historical Context
Guns And Roses sits squarely within Fairey's practice of appropriating propaganda imagery, here a poster from China's Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) that called for forming a Communist army. By repurposing that revolutionary motif into a contemporary anti-war message, Fairey continues the détournement strategy that runs through his career, recasting authoritarian visual language as a tool for dissent. Its 2019 release as a signed, numbered large-format screen print of 89 reflects his later practice of issuing such works at scale on premium archival paper. The print belongs to his Posters and Propaganda body of work and his sustained anti-war commentary, demonstrating how he builds new meaning on appropriated historical sources.
FAQ
What inspired Guns And Roses?
Per the source, it is inspired by a Chinese propaganda poster created during the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). That original poster was a call to form a Communist army; Fairey transforms its revolutionary motif into a contemporary anti-war message.
What are the edition and signing details?
Guns And Roses is a numbered edition of 89, signed by Shepard Fairey and published by Obey Giant in 2019. Each print comes with a certificate of authenticity and measures 30 x 41 inches.
What materials is the print made of?
It is a serigraph on Coventry Rag, 100% cotton custom archival paper with hand-deckled edges, measuring 30 x 41 inches. The original large-format release price was $900.
What is the message of the work?
Fairey repurposes a poster that originally promoted military might for political advantage into a new anti-war message, using the visual language of propaganda to argue against militarism rather than for it.
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.