What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Slayer Eagle”?

Artist Statement

SLAYER EAGLE Screen Print 18 x 24 inches Edition of 350

Summary

Slayer Eagle is a 2002 Shepard Fairey screen print published by Obey Giant in a first edition of 350, measuring 18 x 24 inches. The work centers on an eagle motif tied to the band Slayer, merging heavy-metal music iconography with Fairey's propaganda-poster aesthetic of flat color, bold symmetry, and emblematic framing. The eagle, a recurring symbol in Fairey's vocabulary, is rendered as a powerful heraldic emblem. It is a mid-size early-period screen print from Fairey's Obey Giant studio, with one of the larger edition sizes in this group at 350.

Why It Matters

Slayer Eagle sits at the intersection of Fairey's music-culture collaborations and his ongoing use of the eagle as an emblem of power and intensity. Linking the OBEY visual language to Slayer, a defining heavy-metal band, the print reflects Fairey's deep roots in punk and metal subculture, a connection that runs throughout his career and his music-poster work. For collectors, the 2002 dating places it in the productive early Obey Giant period, and the eagle motif ties it to a recognizable strand of Fairey's iconography that recurs in later works like Lesser Gods Eagle and Eagle Mountain. The source-stated first edition of 350 is one of the larger runs in this 2001-2002 cohort, giving it broader availability than the more limited prints of the same era. Within his catalog it connects music fandom, emblematic design, and the propaganda-poster style, offering collectors a piece that bridges Fairey's art practice and his lifelong engagement with music subculture, valued both as a band-related collectible and as an example of his eagle iconography.

Collector Perspective

This print is a natural fit for collectors who follow Fairey's music collaborations or who are fans of Slayer and heavy-metal culture, as well as those tracking his recurring eagle iconography. Its emblematic, symmetrical design gives it strong wall presence and broad crossover appeal beyond fine-art collectors. At 18 x 24 inches it frames easily and pairs well with his other eagle-themed prints for a focused motif grouping. With a stated first edition of 350, one of the larger runs in this cohort, it is comparatively accessible, making it a good entry point for music-oriented buyers or for collectors beginning to explore Fairey's emblem-driven graphic work.

Historical Context

Slayer Eagle belongs to Fairey's early Obey Giant studio era around 2002 and reflects his deep ties to punk and heavy-metal subculture, which shaped the OBEY project from its late-1980s origins. The eagle motif is a recurring element in Fairey's iconography, appearing across multiple works and recurring in later prints such as Lesser Gods Eagle and Eagle Mountain. As a band-linked release it sits within the broad strand of music collaborations that runs throughout his career, bridging his fine-art screen prints and the gig-poster and music-culture work that remained central to his identity through subsequent decades.

FAQ

Related Works

Lesser Gods Eagle2003 · Shares the eagle emblem motif in a closely following 2003 release.

Eagle Mountain2006 · Continues Fairey's recurring eagle iconography in a later work.

Bring The Noise2002 · Same-year music-culture Obey Giant release, thematically aligned.

Motorhead (Red)2002 · 2002 band-linked metal-music print, a direct music-collaboration peer.

Metropolis2001 · Adjacent early Obey Giant release sharing format and studio period.

Zapatista2001 · Early Obey Giant emblematic print from the same studio era.