Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Just Angels Rising”?
Artist Statement
These prints, "Just Angels Rising" and "Just Future Rising," are variations of the art I created for the Time "VOTE" cover just before the 2020 election. At the time, I wanted to address the very unique situation we were in as a country as we faced the Covid-19 pandemic, unrest around police brutality and racial discrimination, voter suppression, and intense political division. We are still facing all of those things, though the development of Covid vaccines has significantly improved public safety and benefitted the fight to end the pandemic. In this illustration, the usually clear-cut rebel symbol of a bandana covering a face takes on a different meaning during Covid, becoming an emblem of safety, respect for one's fellow citizens, and a sign that the wearer believes in science. The updated images on the bandana symbolize an activist's aspiration for a more just future for all. The future is in part shaped by voting, but not voting alone. How we express our ideals and spend our money in alignment with our ideals helps to shape the future also. Anti-democracy forces are pushing voter suppression, so voting while you still can is essential. The future of our democracy… and our world is in our hands! The subject of the portrait is my former co-worker Marin Takeshita who is Japanese. With the rise of hate crimes against Asians during Covid, Marin, and I thought it was important for proceeds from these prints to benefit the organization Stop AAPI Hate, which focuses on immigrants' rights, and remedies for racial and social injustice. –Shepard Just Angels Rising and Just Future Rising. 18 x 24 inches. Screen print on thick cream Speckletone paper. Original photo by Victoria Yarnish. Signed by Shepard Fairey. Numbered edition of 450. $65.
Summary
Just Angels Rising is a 2021 screen print by Shepard Fairey, a companion to Just Future Rising and a variation on the art he created for Time magazine's VOTE cover before the 2020 election. It depicts a bandana-wearing figure, with the bandana recast during Covid as an emblem of safety, civic respect, and belief in science, and its imagery symbolizing hope for a more just future. The portrait subject is Fairey's former co-worker Marin Takeshita, from an original photo by Victoria Yarnish. Printed on thick cream Speckletone paper, it measures 18 x 24 inches, is a numbered edition of 450 signed by Fairey, and was issued at $65 to benefit Stop AAPI Hate.
Why It Matters
Just Angels Rising shares its origin with Just Future Rising in Fairey's nationally circulated Time VOTE cover, anchoring it to a documented editorial commission from the 2020 election. The print transforms the rebel bandana, a recurring Fairey symbol, into a Covid-era sign of public health, mutual respect, and trust in science, illustrating how he adapted his iconography to a precise historical moment. Fairey frames the work around the idea that the future is shaped by voting but not voting alone, and by how people express and spend in line with their ideals, a theme he states directly in the source. Its meaning deepens through the subject, his former co-worker Marin Takeshita, and the dedication of proceeds to Stop AAPI Hate during a surge in anti-Asian hate crimes. As the paired counterpart to Just Future Rising and a derivative of a widely seen cover image, it carries strong appeal for collectors of Fairey's democracy and voting work and for those who pursue matched companion prints.
Collector Perspective
This print appeals to collectors of Fairey's democracy and voting imagery, buyers attracted to the Time VOTE cover connection, and those who value cause-linked editions. The cream Speckletone paper, Fairey signature, and edition numbering establish it as a studio screenprint, and its pairing with Just Future Rising creates a clear companion-set collecting opportunity. At an accessible original price and an edition of 450, it fits collections built around voting, democracy, and Fairey's portrait-based activism. The link to a major editorial cover, the identified portrait subject, and proceeds benefiting Stop AAPI Hate provide context and social meaning that appeal to collectors who weigh a print's story and mission alongside its visual impact.
Historical Context
Just Angels Rising belongs to Fairey's body of voting and democracy work surrounding the 2020 election, emerging directly from his Time VOTE cover commission. Released in 2021, it shows how he reworked a high-profile editorial image into collectible prints while updating its meaning for the continuing Covid pandemic. Recasting the bandana as a symbol of safety and science marks a distinct moment in his evolving iconography, and the dedication of proceeds to Stop AAPI Hate ties the work to the period's rise in anti-Asian violence. Printed on cream Speckletone paper from a photograph by Victoria Yarnish, it follows standard Obey Giant studio practice and functions as the companion release to Just Future Rising.
FAQ
How is Just Angels Rising related to Just Future Rising?
The two are companion prints, both variations on the art Fairey made for Time magazine's VOTE cover before the 2020 election. They share the same concept, subject, paper, dimensions, edition size, and benefit, and were released together in 2021.
Who is depicted and who benefits?
The portrait subject is Fairey's former co-worker Marin Takeshita, from an original photo by Victoria Yarnish. Proceeds were directed to Stop AAPI Hate, which focuses on immigrants' rights and remedies for racial and social injustice, in response to rising anti-Asian hate crimes during Covid.
What does the bandana represent in this print?
Fairey reinterprets the usually rebellious bandana over a face as a Covid-era emblem of safety, respect for fellow citizens, and belief in science. The imagery on the bandana symbolizes an activist's aspiration for a more just future for all.
What are the print's specifications?
Just Angels Rising is a screen print on thick cream Speckletone paper measuring 18 x 24 inches. It is a numbered edition of 450 signed by Shepard Fairey, published in 2021 at an original price of $65.
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.