Obey Giant Page #7

---

Asian, Native American,

gay, straight,

disabled and not disabled.

Americans have sent

a message to the world

that we have

never been

just a collection

of individuals

or a collection of red

states and blue states.

We are and always will be

the United States of America.

(cheering)

All of a sudden,

an image I made

was known

almost universally.

I walked through the

Washington, D. C. airport

on the way to

the inauguration

and there were

bootleg mugs,

t-shirts,

sweatshirts.

It was surreal.

It was ridiculous.

And it was

exciting for me

to feel like

I did something

that started

with the 750 posters

and now it was known

around the world.

Then the Obama

campaign asked me to do

a "Change" poster based

on a different photograph

and then a "Vote" poster

based on a different photograph.

And they sold those to

fundraise for the campaign.

And I also, during

that period of time,

was developing my very

first solo museum show

at the Boston Institute

of Contemporary Art.

Now it definitely looks like

the entire thing

still needs to rotate

really counterclockwise.

It was planned

before the Obama poster

was even created,

but then,

of course,

the museum was

really excited

about how much my

profile had risen

during the course

of the year.

Joining me now

is Shepard Fairey.

He is a familiar name

in the art world

for his street work

and guerilla advertising.

This is the official

inauguration poster.

Shepard was getting

a ton of attention.

Most people knew him

from the Andre the Giant sticker

to the Obama image, right?

So you had Andre

and Obama as bookends,

but everything

in the middle

most people

hadn't seen.

The prints,

the paintings,

the handpainted multiples.

Putting all of that

together in one space

had never been done.

Leading up to my

first solo museum show

at the Boston ICA,

I went out to Boston

a couple of times

and put some

posters up around town

like I normally do,

and some stickers.

One of the most

interesting things

about that show

in Boston, though,

was we did a lot

of outdoor work.

Property owners

gave us a platform

to beautify

derelict buildings.

Building owners

gave us space.

So we had

lots of walls.

That caught the

attention of a detective.

Not the posters

actually at first,

what caught

his attention

was that I said,

in an NPR interview,

that I believed

that street art

was a valid movement

and that I, you know,

I stood behind my actions

as a street artist.

And I guess he found this

very, very offensive.

Do you think the people

who do find it intrusive

to have street art on

the side of their building

or on public property,

like, you know,

stop signs,

do you think that

they have a point?

Graffiti, street art

is not appropriate everywhere,

and my approach

is to try to find

the most

appropriate places

where the art

can be integrated,

I can communicate

with people.

I'm a tax payer,

theoretically I

own a little bit

of the public

space myself.

And I can put

stuff out there

that creates the least

inconvenience for others.

I'll only put my

work on buildings

that are boarded up

or dilapidated

or already have

other graffiti on them.

We were in Boston

and it was the night

of the opening,

like the biggest

exhibition of his life,

Shepard and I get

into a taxi cab

to go to

the Boston ICA.

And then I get

a text from Amanda,

"Shepard has been

taken by the police."

Three cop cars pull up,

one of them gets

in front of our taxi,

one of 'em is behind us,

and one of 'em

blocks us in on the side.

I'm thinking, "What

the hell is going on?"

I really thought that

maybe the cab driver

had like a brick

of coke in the car.

So they had nine

undercover cars,

unmarked SUVs.

"Get out of the car,

get down on the ground."

They rip him

out of the car,

throw him

on the ground,

and handcuff him.

They pulled me out

and they arrested me

and they charged me

with 32 felonies.

(booing)

(cheering)

Let's keep this

thing moving, man.

I was horrified,

I couldn't believe it.

I was offended.

I thought, you know,

we did this show,

we're bringing this

artist to the city.

It's, you know,

tons of press for Boston.

He was shaking hands

with the mayor.

You know, it was--

it was absolutely ridiculous.

It's not like Shepard's

never spent time in jail.

It's just that, you know,

usually when he's left

in jail over the weekend

they neglect his dia--

Sorry.

They just neglect his

diabetes and everything

and it's like--

and he gets sick.

I was scared.

I was scared

for Shepard.

The street artist who

gained national fame

for his red, white,

and blue posters

of President Obama

was arrested last

night in Boston.

The Boston Globe reports

Fairey was arrested

on two outstanding warrants.

So I get a--

one of the lawyers

that somebody from

the museum knows

and we go down

to the courthouse.

And we get him out,

we get him out

really early

in the morning.

And that's

when they told me

it's because of

charges of vandalism.

(telephone keypad beeping)

Thank you so much for

tuning in to Call the Cops.

My name is

Officer Jamie Kenneally.

As always,

we got a--

yeah, a big

show in store.

Tonight we have Detective

Bill Kelly in the house.

Can I call you the

Guru of Graffiti, sir?

You can use that word--

whatever word

you want to use.

There are

police officers

that are running the

anti-graffiti squad

in Boston.

And their whole career

is about catching

graffiti artists.

And, you know,

Shepard is, you know,

he's a stag

with big antlers.

You know, I'm

sure they saw him

as a major trophy.

The difference

between graffiti and art

is permission, okay?

If it looks so good

and it's art

and it's that great,

then how come it's

not on the front door

of your parents' house?

How come it's

not on your car?

How come it's not on

your father's business?

If it's that good,

if it's art,

then maybe you should

put it on a canvas

and try to sell it.

He kept using this

phrase over and over,

that I was

someone who was...

...disrespecting

the commonwealth.

"I'm not gonna let someone

disrespect the commonwealth."

That's what

he kept saying.

"You can't come here,

disrespect

the commonwealth,

and expect not

to get arrested."

The vandalism charges

against him in Boston

are not his first.

He's been charged

with numerous

graffiti-related

or tagging charges

throughout the country.

Shepard tended to do work

on derelict buildings.

And alongside his

work are often ads

for Madewell and

Urban Outfitters,

other paper ads,

which are

just as illegal

as what Shepard's

doing, right?

There's no difference.

It's the same material,

it's put up illegally,

it's not like

these companies

are paying permits.

They pay a company

to put it up,

but it's still an illegal

form of advertising.

So it was

selective enforcement.

They weren't going

after these companies,

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