{"product_id":"shepard-fairey-angela-rough-2003-signed-screen-print-obey-18x24-ed-300","title":"Shepard Fairey Angela Rough 2003 Signed Screen Print OBEY 18x24 Ed 300","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"630\" data-end=\"706\" class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"630\" data-end=\"706\"\u003eOriginal OBEY Giant Screen Print | First Edition of 300 | 18 x 24 Inches\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchor\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"708\" data-end=\"938\"\u003eAn exceptional early Shepard Fairey portrait from \u003cstrong data-start=\"758\" data-end=\"766\"\u003e2003\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cem data-start=\"768\" data-end=\"782\"\u003eAngela Rough\u003c\/em\u003e depicts legendary activist, scholar and civil-rights figure \u003cstrong data-start=\"843\" data-end=\"859\"\u003eAngela Davis\u003c\/strong\u003e through the raw visual vocabulary that defined Fairey’s formative OBEY period.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"940\" data-end=\"1202\"\u003eLong before the 2008 \u003cstrong data-start=\"961\" data-end=\"969\"\u003eHOPE\u003c\/strong\u003e portrait made Shepard Fairey a household name, he was developing a body of work that combined political iconography, punk graphics, propaganda aesthetics and distressed street imagery. \u003cem data-start=\"1155\" data-end=\"1169\"\u003eAngela Rough\u003c\/em\u003e comes directly from that period.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1204\" data-end=\"1354\"\u003eThis is not simply a portrait of Angela Davis. It is an image about \u003cstrong data-start=\"1272\" data-end=\"1354\"\u003epower, resistance, visibility and the structures imposed around an individual.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1356\" data-end=\"1649\"\u003eFairey renders Davis in a deliberately distressed palette of \u003cstrong data-start=\"1417\" data-end=\"1457\"\u003edeep black, brick red and aged cream\u003c\/strong\u003e, with her face fragmented by a rigid network of horizontal and vertical lines. Those lines can be read in several ways: as brickwork, fencing, barriers, censorship or institutional structure.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1651\" data-end=\"1702\"\u003eThat ambiguity gives the work much of its strength.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1704\" data-end=\"1932\"\u003eDavis remains immediately recognizable, yet the image appears almost buried beneath the surface surrounding her—as though her portrait has been wheat-pasted onto a city wall, weathered, painted over and rediscovered years later.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 data-section-id=\"1md2de8\" data-start=\"1934\" data-end=\"1963\"\u003eTHE SUBJECT: ANGELA DAVIS\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1965\" data-end=\"2136\"\u003eAngela Davis became one of the most recognizable figures associated with the American civil-rights, Black liberation and social-justice movements of the late 20th century.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2138\" data-end=\"2322\"\u003eFairey’s choice of Davis places \u003cem data-start=\"2170\" data-end=\"2184\"\u003eAngela Rough\u003c\/em\u003e within an important strand of his work: portraits of cultural and political figures whose identities carry meanings far beyond celebrity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2324\" data-end=\"2465\"\u003eRather than depicting Davis conventionally, Fairey converts her likeness into the visual language of \u003cstrong data-start=\"2425\" data-end=\"2464\"\u003epropaganda and street communication\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2467\" data-end=\"2492\"\u003eHer face becomes an icon.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2494\" data-end=\"2678\"\u003eThe result is simultaneously historical and contemporary—a portrait rooted in the politics of an earlier generation but filtered through the graphic language of early-2000s street art.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 data-section-id=\"5rpr7y\" data-start=\"2680\" data-end=\"2703\"\u003eWHY “ROUGH” MATTERS\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2705\" data-end=\"2757\"\u003eThe word \u003cstrong data-start=\"2714\" data-end=\"2723\"\u003eRough\u003c\/strong\u003e is particularly appropriate here.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2759\" data-end=\"2878\"\u003eUnlike Fairey works built around immaculate geometric symmetry, \u003cem data-start=\"2823\" data-end=\"2837\"\u003eAngela Rough\u003c\/em\u003e deliberately appears worn and imperfect.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2880\" data-end=\"3121\"\u003eLook closely and the surface is full of distressed textures, irregular tonal areas and simulated deterioration. The portrait feels less like a pristine studio image and more like something discovered on an urban wall after years of exposure.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3123\" data-end=\"3179\"\u003eThat visual language was central to Fairey’s early work.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3181\" data-end=\"3217\"\u003eHe built imagery that borrowed from:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3219\" data-end=\"3356\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"3219\" data-end=\"3356\"\u003eRussian Constructivism · political propaganda · punk flyers · photocopied graphics · stencil art · wheat-pasted posters · advertising\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3358\" data-end=\"3447\"\u003eFairey then recombined those references into the immediately recognizable OBEY aesthetic.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3449\" data-end=\"3651\"\u003eIn \u003cem data-start=\"3452\" data-end=\"3466\"\u003eAngela Rough\u003c\/em\u003e, that vocabulary is particularly effective because the distressed surface reinforces the subject matter. Angela Davis does not appear polished or decorative. She appears \u003cstrong data-start=\"3637\" data-end=\"3650\"\u003eresilient\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 data-section-id=\"1ywascr\" data-start=\"3653\" data-end=\"3677\"\u003eAN EARLY FAIREY WORK\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3679\" data-end=\"3701\"\u003eThe date is important.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3703\" data-end=\"3712\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"3703\" data-end=\"3712\"\u003e2003.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3714\" data-end=\"3979\"\u003eThis print predates the Obama \u003cstrong data-start=\"3744\" data-end=\"3752\"\u003eHOPE\u003c\/strong\u003e campaign by approximately five years and comes from a period when Fairey was still primarily associated with street art, OBEY Giant and underground graphic culture rather than the enormous mainstream recognition that followed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3981\" data-end=\"4268\"\u003eThe original Andre the Giant sticker campaign began in \u003cstrong data-start=\"4036\" data-end=\"4044\"\u003e1989\u003c\/strong\u003e. Over the following decade, Fairey gradually transformed the experiment into an increasingly sophisticated visual system built around repetition, authority, propaganda and questioning the imagery people encounter every day.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4270\" data-end=\"4362\"\u003eBy the early 2000s, portraiture had become an increasingly powerful part of that vocabulary.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4364\" data-end=\"4415\"\u003e\u003cem data-start=\"4364\" data-end=\"4378\"\u003eAngela Rough\u003c\/em\u003e sits squarely within that evolution.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4417\" data-end=\"4550\"\u003eIt is consequently interesting not only as an Angela Davis portrait, but as a document of \u003cstrong data-start=\"4507\" data-end=\"4549\"\u003eShepard Fairey becoming Shepard Fairey\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 data-section-id=\"3wct1j\" data-start=\"4552\" data-end=\"4571\"\u003eTHE COMPOSITION\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4573\" data-end=\"4619\"\u003eThe visual construction is deceptively simple.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4621\" data-end=\"4702\"\u003eA limited palette allows the portrait to strike immediately from across the room:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4704\" data-end=\"4741\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"4704\" data-end=\"4713\"\u003eBlack\u003c\/strong\u003e provides weight and shadow.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4743\" data-end=\"4831\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"4743\" data-end=\"4752\"\u003eCream\u003c\/strong\u003e defines Davis's face and creates the feeling of aged paper or weathered paint.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4833\" data-end=\"4925\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"4833\" data-end=\"4845\"\u003eDeep red\u003c\/strong\u003e cuts through the composition like oxidized brick, rust or political poster ink.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4927\" data-end=\"4963\"\u003eThe grid then disrupts the portrait.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4965\" data-end=\"5099\"\u003eRather than placing Davis comfortably in front of a background, Fairey forces the viewer to look \u003cstrong data-start=\"5062\" data-end=\"5098\"\u003ethrough the structure to see her\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"5101\" data-end=\"5198\"\u003eThat makes the composition much more psychologically interesting than a straightforward portrait.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"5200\" data-end=\"5236\"\u003eThe imagery can suggest restriction.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"5238\" data-end=\"5264\"\u003eIt can suggest resistance.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"5266\" data-end=\"5356\"\u003eIt can suggest someone whose identity remains visible despite the systems surrounding her.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"5358\" data-end=\"5496\"\u003eAnd because Fairey does not resolve that interpretation for the viewer, the image retains tension more than two decades after its release.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 data-section-id=\"12scpje\" data-start=\"5498\" data-end=\"5529\"\u003eOBEY GIANT \/ PROPAGANDA ERA\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"5531\" data-end=\"5610\"\u003eThe small \u003cstrong data-start=\"5541\" data-end=\"5549\"\u003eOBEY\u003c\/strong\u003e mark in the lower-right corner is another important element.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"5612\" data-end=\"5914\"\u003eFairey built OBEY around the idea that people often absorb commands, advertising and political imagery without consciously examining them. By creating a seemingly authoritarian visual identity around a deliberately ambiguous word—\u003cstrong data-start=\"5842\" data-end=\"5850\"\u003eOBEY\u003c\/strong\u003e—Fairey turned the mechanics of propaganda back onto the viewer.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"5916\" data-end=\"5963\"\u003eThat philosophy runs throughout \u003cem data-start=\"5948\" data-end=\"5962\"\u003eAngela Rough\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"5965\" data-end=\"6054\"\u003eThe image looks like propaganda, but it does not tell the viewer exactly what to believe.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"6056\" data-end=\"6115\"\u003eInstead, it encourages the viewer to interrogate the image.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 data-section-id=\"16thgoq\" data-start=\"6117\" data-end=\"6143\"\u003eCOLLECTOR SIGNIFICANCE\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"6145\" data-end=\"6236\"\u003eFor collectors, \u003cem data-start=\"6161\" data-end=\"6175\"\u003eAngela Rough\u003c\/em\u003e combines several desirable characteristics in a single work:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul data-start=\"6238\" data-end=\"6589\"\u003e\n\u003cli data-section-id=\"ey30nn\" data-start=\"6238\" data-end=\"6269\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong data-start=\"6240\" data-end=\"6269\"\u003eEarly 2003 Shepard Fairey\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-section-id=\"2aexfh\" data-start=\"6270\" data-end=\"6296\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong data-start=\"6272\" data-end=\"6296\"\u003eAngela Davis subject\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-section-id=\"q45uw6\" data-start=\"6297\" data-end=\"6316\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong data-start=\"6299\" data-end=\"6316\"\u003eFirst Edition\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-section-id=\"189aqnm\" data-start=\"6317\" data-end=\"6342\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong data-start=\"6319\" data-end=\"6342\"\u003eEdition of only 300\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-section-id=\"1svbumv\" data-start=\"6343\" data-end=\"6393\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong data-start=\"6345\" data-end=\"6393\"\u003eClassic OBEY-era red \/ black \/ cream palette\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-section-id=\"u6tcho\" data-start=\"6394\" data-end=\"6455\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong data-start=\"6396\" data-end=\"6455\"\u003ePolitically and historically significant subject matter\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-section-id=\"1s75n7k\" data-start=\"6456\" data-end=\"6485\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong data-start=\"6458\" data-end=\"6485\"\u003eStrong portrait imagery\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-section-id=\"c7nz74\" data-start=\"6486\" data-end=\"6511\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong data-start=\"6488\" data-end=\"6511\"\u003e18 x 24 inch format\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-section-id=\"gmaogk\" data-start=\"6512\" data-end=\"6543\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong data-start=\"6514\" data-end=\"6543\"\u003eMore than two decades old\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-section-id=\"1vaoxl3\" data-start=\"6544\" data-end=\"6589\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong data-start=\"6546\" data-end=\"6589\"\u003ePre-HOPE \/ pre-mainstream Fairey period\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"6591\" data-end=\"6737\"\u003eThe edition of \u003cstrong data-start=\"6606\" data-end=\"6613\"\u003e300\u003c\/strong\u003e is particularly attractive for collectors accustomed to later Fairey releases produced in considerably broader circulation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"6739\" data-end=\"7004\"\u003eUnlike works whose appeal depends primarily on decorative imagery, \u003cem data-start=\"6806\" data-end=\"6820\"\u003eAngela Rough\u003c\/em\u003e occupies several collecting categories simultaneously: \u003cstrong data-start=\"6876\" data-end=\"7004\"\u003estreet art, contemporary political art, African-American history, civil-rights imagery and Shepard Fairey \/ OBEY collecting.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 data-section-id=\"a67fb6\" data-start=\"7006\" data-end=\"7025\"\u003eARTWORK DETAILS\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"7027\" data-end=\"7375\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"7027\" data-end=\"7038\"\u003eArtist:\u003c\/strong\u003e Shepard Fairey\u003cbr data-start=\"7053\" data-end=\"7056\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong data-start=\"7056\" data-end=\"7066\"\u003eTitle:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cem data-start=\"7067\" data-end=\"7081\"\u003eAngela Rough\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"7081\" data-end=\"7084\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong data-start=\"7084\" data-end=\"7093\"\u003eYear:\u003c\/strong\u003e 2003\u003cbr data-start=\"7098\" data-end=\"7101\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong data-start=\"7101\" data-end=\"7115\"\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/strong\u003e OBEY Giant\u003cbr data-start=\"7126\" data-end=\"7129\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong data-start=\"7129\" data-end=\"7140\"\u003eMedium:\u003c\/strong\u003e Screen Print\u003cbr data-start=\"7153\" data-end=\"7156\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong data-start=\"7156\" data-end=\"7168\"\u003eEdition:\u003c\/strong\u003e First Edition\u003cbr data-start=\"7182\" data-end=\"7185\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong data-start=\"7185\" data-end=\"7202\"\u003eEdition Size:\u003c\/strong\u003e 300\u003cbr data-start=\"7206\" data-end=\"7209\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong data-start=\"7209\" data-end=\"7224\"\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 18 x 24 inches\u003cbr data-start=\"7239\" data-end=\"7242\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong data-start=\"7242\" data-end=\"7258\"\u003eOrientation:\u003c\/strong\u003e Portrait \/ Vertical\u003cbr data-start=\"7278\" data-end=\"7281\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong data-start=\"7281\" data-end=\"7292\"\u003eSeries:\u003c\/strong\u003e Portrait Series\u003cbr data-start=\"7308\" data-end=\"7311\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong data-start=\"7311\" data-end=\"7323\"\u003eSubject:\u003c\/strong\u003e Angela Davis\u003cbr data-start=\"7336\" data-end=\"7339\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong data-start=\"7339\" data-end=\"7347\"\u003eEra:\u003c\/strong\u003e Early OBEY \/ Propaganda Era\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"7377\" data-end=\"7484\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"7377\" data-end=\"7403\"\u003eSignature \/ numbering:\u003c\/strong\u003e Please refer to the detailed photographs of the actual example offered for sale.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"7486\" data-end=\"7564\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"7486\" data-end=\"7496\"\u003eFrame:\u003c\/strong\u003e Sold unframed unless specifically stated otherwise in this listing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 data-section-id=\"91g40l\" data-start=\"7566\" data-end=\"7579\"\u003eCONDITION\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"7581\" data-end=\"7709\"\u003ePlease examine all photographs carefully, as they are part of the description and show the actual condition of the work offered.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"7711\" data-end=\"7902\"\u003eWith prints of this age, collectors should evaluate the \u003cstrong data-start=\"7767\" data-end=\"7841\"\u003ecorners, edges, paper surface, margins, signature and edition markings\u003c\/strong\u003e rather than relying solely on a generalized condition grade.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"7904\" data-end=\"7965\"\u003eAdditional detailed photographs can be provided upon request.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 data-section-id=\"14mfytw\" data-start=\"7967\" data-end=\"8012\"\u003eA SERIOUS EARLY FAIREY FOR THE COLLECTION\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"8014\" data-end=\"8107\"\u003eThere are plenty of Shepard Fairey images that work simply because they look great on a wall.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"8109\" data-end=\"8149\"\u003e\u003cem data-start=\"8109\" data-end=\"8123\"\u003eAngela Rough\u003c\/em\u003e offers considerably more.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"8151\" data-end=\"8439\"\u003eIt connects Fairey’s roots in street culture with one of the defining political figures of modern American history. It combines portraiture with the visual mechanics of propaganda. And it comes from \u003cstrong data-start=\"8350\" data-end=\"8439\"\u003e2003—years before Fairey's imagery became part of mainstream American visual culture.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"8441\" data-end=\"8487\"\u003eFrom across a room, it is unmistakably Fairey.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"8489\" data-end=\"8586\"\u003eUp close, the distressed surface, fragmented portrait and grid make it considerably more complex.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"8588\" data-end=\"8726\"\u003eFor a collector looking beyond the most common OBEY imagery, \u003cstrong data-start=\"8649\" data-end=\"8726\"\u003eAngela Rough is exactly the kind of early work worth paying attention to.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cbr\u003eListed with ExportYourStore.com","brand":"Gauntlet Gallery","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45746590777479,"sku":"318682854297_7542_180C","price":900.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0658\/3179\/6871\/files\/57_5bf32573-0468-4595-b107-bbf6a9f4906c.jpg?v=1788369685","url":"https:\/\/gauntlet.gallery\/products\/shepard-fairey-angela-rough-2003-signed-screen-print-obey-18x24-ed-300","provider":"Gauntlet Gallery","version":"1.0","type":"link"}