POW(ER) Print

Work Summary & Collector Notes

Here is a brief explanation of the POW(ER) print. I was asked by my longtime friends at PAPER magazine to guest edit their art issue. I gladly accepted, and the issue should be out later in Nov. In the issue my friend and PAPER editor Carlo McCormick, who wrote an essay for my book “Supply And Demand”, wrote a fantastic essay about the evolution of visual culture from Pop Art to street art, and the impact of the internet and media saturation. To illustrate Carlo’s essay I created the POW(ER) image. The image is an homage to influential Pop Artist Roy Lichtenstein, who appropriated and re-painted comic frames often transforming them in meaning and context. I have often described my art as a fusion of Pop Art, street art, and political art. I utilize the platform created by Pop Art, but I try to take my work even more directly to the people. Like Pop artists before me, I utilize a vocabulary of familiar cultural visual references. In fact, after I conceived of the POW(ER) image and did some further research on Lichtenstein, I discovered an image he had made of a woman holding a can of spray paint or hairspray. The image looked familiar to me, because a few years ago I re-illustrated the same piece of clip art that Lichtenstein referenced for his spray paint/hair spray painting. The connection was was too serendipitous to ignore and I proceeded to create the POW(ER) image. For me, street art has always been about populism and emPOWERment. The recent embrace of street art in the art world as a legitimate genre demonstrates the power of accessible, relatable imagery, and in many ways builds upon the triumphs of Pop Art. Check out the PAPER issue when it comes out to read Carlo’s excellent essay. -Shepard

Collector notes: Edition of 450; saved release record states an edition size of 450. Edition-specific signature, numbering, and stamp details were not stated in the saved release record. Verify signing and numbering against a documented example of this edition. Gauntlet groups this work under Consumerism and power for discovery; that category is a navigation aid, not an authentication conclusion.

Documented Release Details

Object type

Editioned screenprint

Release date

2010

Release-date note

Catalog-listed release year/date from the saved secondary record; primary release-page confirmation remains pending.

Medium and materials

Screen Print; catalog dimensions 18 x 24 inches.

Edition details

Edition of 450; saved release record states an edition size of 450.

Signature and marks

Edition-specific signature, numbering, and stamp details were not stated in the saved release record. Verify signing and numbering against a documented example of this edition.

Documented History and Meaning

History note: Shepard Fairey's OBEY / Andre the Giant campaign began in 1989 and grew into a long print and public-art practice; this page treats that as career context, not proof that this specific edition belongs to any single exhibition.

Meaning / interpretation: Fairey's practice combines propaganda-style imagery, political and countercultural themes, and a recurring OBEY vocabulary. Subject-specific intent is not assumed here unless the release record states it. This interpretive note follows the cited artist or publisher context.

Release context: The saved catalog lists 2010 and attributes the edition to Obey Giant.

Authentication, Presentation and Provenance

Original presentation

Original packaging or presentation was not documented in the release sources reviewed.

Authentication note

Compare the support, dimensions, edition number, and signature against a documented example of this edition. Gauntlet Gallery does not authenticate works purchased from third parties.

Provenance note

Edition origin is attributed in the saved record to Obey Giant. That does not establish the ownership history of an individual copy: retain the original invoice, reseller or gallery paperwork, labels, correspondence, and condition photographs.

Sources and Verification

Verification status: Secondary catalog snapshot; artist-level context added

1. Saved release record — Art Collectorz · secondary catalog snapshot · Accessed 2026-07-13 · Starting record for title, date, edition, dimensions, medium, release price, and release description. Primary confirmation against the original release page remains pending.
2. About — Shepard Fairey / OBEY GIANT — Obey Giant · primary artist source · Accessed 2026-07-13 · Official OBEY GIANT artist biography and career context; it is not an individual-edition record.
3. Shepard Fairey — Wikipedia · reference encyclopedia · Accessed 2026-07-13 · General artist-level biographical and career reference.
4. Shepard Fairey (Q1142847) — Wikidata · reference knowledge base · Accessed 2026-07-13 · Structured identifier used for the artist across catalog metadata.