Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “OG Lamp Base”?
Artist Statement
OG LAMPBASE Screen Print 18 x 24 inches Edition of 200
Summary
OG Lamp Base is a 2001 Shepard Fairey screen print published by Obey Giant in a first edition of 200, measuring 18 x 24 inches. The work applies the OBEY visual system, flat color, bold framing, and decorative iconography, to the form of a lamp base, treating a domestic object through Fairey's propaganda-graphic lens. The design reads as a stylized product or ornamental study within the OBEY brand vocabulary. It is a mid-size early-period screen print characteristic of Fairey's Obey Giant studio output around 2001.
Why It Matters
OG Lamp Base is an example of Fairey extending the OBEY brand vocabulary onto an unexpected domestic object, part of his ongoing project of saturating everyday forms with propaganda iconography. By styling a lamp base in the OBEY system, the work plays with the way commercial design and consumer products absorb branding, echoing Fairey's broader interest in how imagery colonizes daily life. For collectors, this 2001 piece belongs to the formative Obey Giant period and rounds out a 2001 cohort of screen prints that experiment across subjects from political portraits to ornamental and product-like motifs. The source-stated first edition of 200 keeps it a contained early run. Within Fairey's catalog it connects to the other 2001 Obey Giant releases such as Zapatista and the Nixon prints that share its format and studio moment. As a documented screen print exploring the decorative and product side of the OBEY brand, it offers collectors a more unusual, design-driven slice of Fairey's early practice that complements his better-known portrait and political work.
Collector Perspective
This print appeals to collectors interested in the design and branding side of Fairey's OBEY project and in the breadth of his early Obey Giant output. Its product-styled, ornamental subject makes it a distinctive complement to the more familiar portrait and political prints, ideal for collectors who want depth and variety within the 2001 cohort. The 18 x 24 inch format frames cleanly and pairs naturally with its sibling releases from the same year. With a documented first edition of 200, it sits in a moderately scarce tier. Buyers assembling a comprehensive view of Fairey's early OBEY experimentation will value its unusual decorative angle.
Historical Context
OG Lamp Base belongs to Fairey's early Obey Giant studio era around 2001, when he was applying the OBEY brand system across a wide range of subjects, from political figures to product-like and ornamental forms. Styling a domestic object in the propaganda-graphic vocabulary reflects his interest in how branding and design saturate everyday life, a thread running through the OBEY project since its late-1980s sticker origins. The print sits among a dense run of 2001 Obey Giant releases and demonstrates the experimental range of the studio during this formative, pre-Obama period.
FAQ
What is OG Lamp Base?
It is a 2001 Shepard Fairey screen print that applies the OBEY visual system to the form of a lamp base, treating a domestic object through his propaganda-graphic style. The design reads as a stylized, product-like study within the OBEY brand vocabulary.
What are the edition size and dimensions?
According to the source record it is a first edition of 200 and measures 18 x 24 inches. It was produced as a screen print published by Obey Giant, Fairey's studio imprint.
How does it fit Fairey's broader work?
It reflects his interest in applying the OBEY brand across unexpected, everyday forms. Made during the formative Obey Giant period around 2001, it sits among a cohort of releases that experimented widely across subjects.
How scarce is this print?
With a stated first edition of 200 it falls in a moderately scarce tier. The source does not confirm availability or sold-out status, so this reflects documented edition size only, not current market supply.
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.