Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “The High Cost Of Free Speach”?
Artist Statement
Punk rock ignited a lot of creative and philosophical things for me, and punk principles continuously remind me that speaking truth to power and questioning authority is paramount in life. The Dead Kennedys, The Clash, Black Flag, and the Circle Jerks are just a few of the groups that referenced injustices such as police brutality and abuse of power in their songs, inspiring me to speak out about the same subjects through my art. I have made a lot of lasting friendships through punk rock and its cultural offshoots. One of those friends is Sean Bonner, who began ordering my prints in the '90s while he was art director for punk label Victory Records. Sean designed the package for the Bad Brains "Omega Sessions," among others. Sean is a great designer, writer, activist, and photographer. Sean and I have worked on many projects together over the years, but this is our first art collaboration. I love Sean's photography, and he said a while back, "if you see anything you dig on my Instagram, you are welcome to make an illustration based on it." After the protests for racial justice and against police brutality this past summer, I remembered a pic of Sean's I liked. It turns out the photo was taken in Paris but could be from any city where the police do whatever they want to people – NY, LA, Minneapolis, Moscow, London, Berlin, etc. To me, Sean's image conveys the fairly universal problem that those who speak up for justice are often beaten down by the police for standing up. We need to demand accountability from those with power and demand consequences when that power is abused. There have been consistent protests in France over the mistreatment of refugees and the erosion of the social safety net for low-income people. Since Sean's shot is actually from Paris and those French protests have been met with a lot of police brutality, we thought the poster should raise some money for a French charity called Les Restos du Coeur which provides services for the most marginalized populations. Thanks for caring! -Shepard "My work is observational, not documentarian. I try to capture moments, feelings – less how things are, more how I experience them. Years ago, while in Paris, I came upon several heavily armored cops standing over a kid in a t-shirt who they were detaining, forcefully, agressively. A blatant and grotesque display of the imbalance of power which reminded me of similar situations my friends and I have experienced first hand all too often. Of course, sadly that isn't a unique experience. Shepard wields his art like weapon, relentlessly fighting for for a better tomorrow. With this image, I'm honored to have the chance to provide some ammo for that fight. Shepard's voice has always been thoughtful and poignant, as an artist and as a friend. This collaboration gives an amplified voice to a silent image, injecting an enduring message into a fleeting moment." – Sean Bonner The High Cost Of Free Speech. 24 x 24 inches. Screen print on thick cream Speckletone paper. Original photo by Sean Bonner. Signed by Shepard Fairey. Numbered edition of 575. $80.
Summary
The High Cost Of Free Speech is a 2021 screen print, 24 x 24 inches on thick cream Speckletone paper, in a signed, numbered edition of 575. It is Shepard Fairey's first art collaboration with photographer Sean Bonner, based on Bonner's photograph of heavily armored police detaining a young person, taken in Paris. The image speaks to the universal pattern of those who protest for justice being met with police force. Released following the 2020 racial-justice and anti-police-brutality protests, the print was published by Obey Giant with a percentage of proceeds directed to the French charity Les Restos du Coeur.
Why It Matters
This print sits at the intersection of two threads central to Fairey's practice: his punk-rooted suspicion of authority and his ongoing critique of police power. By his own account, punk bands like the Dead Kennedys, The Clash, Black Flag, and the Circle Jerks shaped his instinct to speak truth to power, and that lineage gives the image its conviction. What distinguishes it is its collaborative origin: it marks Fairey's first art collaboration with Sean Bonner, a designer and photographer he has known since the 1990s, and it translates a single fleeting documentary moment into an enduring graphic statement. The choice to ground the image in a Paris protest, while explicitly connecting it to NY, LA, Minneapolis, Moscow, London, and Berlin, frames police violence as a global rather than local problem. Tied to the 2020 protest wave and benefiting Les Restos du Coeur, the print is both an artwork and an act of solidarity. For collectors, it is a documentary-adjacent piece that captures the political temperature of its moment while extending Fairey's long-running argument for accountability when power is abused.
Collector Perspective
This print appeals to collectors drawn to Fairey's protest and civil-liberties work, as well as those who value collaboration pieces and punk-adjacent cultural lineage. The square 24 x 24 format and a single arresting figure make it a strong focal point for a wall, and its cream Speckletone stock matches many other Obey Giant releases for a cohesive grouping. Collectors building a 2020-2021 protest-era set, or a sub-collection of Fairey collaborations, will find it a natural anchor. The Sean Bonner credit adds a documentary-photography dimension that distinguishes it from Fairey's purely illustrated work. At an edition of 575 and an original $80 release price, it is an accessible entry point for newer collectors who want a signed, numbered, politically charged screen print with a clear backstory and charitable association.
Historical Context
Released in March 2021, this print belongs to Fairey's sustained run of activist screen prints responding to the political turmoil of 2020-2021. It follows directly from the summer 2020 racial-justice and anti-police-brutality protests that he cites as its catalyst, situating it within his broader body of work confronting state power and abuse of authority. The piece also documents an evolution in his collaborative practice: while Fairey has long worked with musicians and photographers, this is described as his first art collaboration with Sean Bonner, a friend from the 1990s punk and independent-label world. The decision to route proceeds to Les Restos du Coeur connects it to his pattern of pairing print releases with charitable causes. Within his arc, it reinforces how his early punk influences continue to inform his mature political output.
FAQ
What are the dimensions and edition size of this print?
The High Cost Of Free Speech measures 24 x 24 inches and is a screen print on thick cream Speckletone paper. It was released in 2021 in a signed, numbered edition of 575, published by Obey Giant, with an original release price of $80.
Who collaborated with Shepard Fairey on this image?
The print is based on an original photograph by Sean Bonner, a designer, writer, activist, and photographer Fairey has known since the 1990s. Fairey describes it as their first art collaboration, with Bonner inviting Fairey to make an illustration from one of his images.
Where was the source photograph taken and what does it depict?
The photo was taken in Paris and shows heavily armored police forcefully detaining a young person in a t-shirt. Fairey notes it could be from any city where police act with impunity, citing NY, LA, Minneapolis, Moscow, London, and Berlin as examples.
Did this release support a charity?
Yes. Because the source photo and related protests were tied to France, Fairey directed a percentage of proceeds to Les Restos du Coeur, a French charity that provides services for the most marginalized populations.
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.