{"id":9868,"date":"2021-05-03T23:17:08","date_gmt":"2021-05-03T21:17:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.spazioc21.com\/collabs\/obey-naples-2015\/obey-napoli-2015-presentation\/"},"modified":"2026-08-15T00:00:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T22:00:21","slug":"obey-napoli-2015-presentation","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.spazioc21.com\/en\/collabs\/obey-naples-2015\/obey-napoli-2015-presentation\/","title":{"rendered":"OBEY NAPLES 2015 – presentation"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” el_class=”riga”][vc_column width=”1\/4″ offset=”vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_widget_sidebar sidebar_id=”cs-16″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/4″][vc_empty_space height=”85px”][vc_column_text]\/ PRESENTATION<\/strong>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

SHEPARD FAREY. OBEY <\/h2>\n

from the press release[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]From December 6, 2014 to February 28, 2015, the PAN | Palazzo delle Arti in Naples hosted Shepard Fairey, one of the most celebrated American street artists.
A leading figure in the contemporary art scene, Shepard Fairey\u2014better known by his pseudonym OBEY\u2014rose to international fame with his stylized four-color portrait of Barack Obama, overlaid with the words Hope, Change, and Progress. The image became a symbol of the U.S. presidential campaign in 2008. Described by New Yorker art critic Peter Schjeldahl as \u201cthe most efficacious American political illustration since Uncle Sam,\u201d Fairey\u2019s portrait of Obama became a contemporary pop icon, just as Andy Warhol had done with Marilyn Monroe, Mao, and Campbell\u2019s soup cans.
Curated by Massimo Sgroi and organized by Password Onlus in collaboration with the Department of Culture and Tourism of the City of Naples, the exhibition presented, for the first time in an Italian museum, 60 works that trace the stylistic evolution of Shepard Fairey. These included the series created for the city of Venice, Capitol Hill, and the monumental canvas\u2014never before exhibited\u2014alongside works from private collections.
The exhibition confirmed Naples\u2019 role as a key player in contemporary culture, offering visitors a space to engage with timely social themes such as war, repression, propaganda, racism, environmental protection, and the relationship between music and contemporary icons. For Obey, the goal is to prompt the viewer to develop their own interpretation and reflect on the meaning of what they see: \u201cIt\u2019s an ongoing dialogue with the observer; what I do is send a stimulus and respond with a new stimulus based on the reaction I receive.\u201d
Frank Shepard Fairey, known as Obey, was born in Charleston, South Carolina, on February 15, 1970.
The son of a doctor and a real estate agent, Fairey grew up in South Carolina, studied art, and graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1988. In 1989, he conceived the Andr\u00e9 the Giant Has a Posse campaign: plastering city walls with stickers depicting the face of wrestling star Andr\u00e9 the Giant. The image was soon replicated by other artists in cities across the world. According to Fairey, the subject had no particular meaning\u2014the point was to generate a media phenomenon and prompt citizens to reflect on their relationship with the urban environment.
It was at this moment that Obey\u2019s artistic vision began to take shape, focusing on key themes such as propaganda and social control. His attention to the communicative power of art would later inform his guerrilla marketing strategies and, during the U.S.\u2013Iraq conflict, his engagement in politics through the creation of anti-war posters.
However, the initiative that propelled Fairey to international recognition was the Hope poster\u2014a stylized portrait of Barack Obama that became the icon of the campaign which brought the Democratic candidate to the White House. The poster also appeared, during the 2008 campaign, with the captions Change and Vote. Although Obama\u2019s campaign never officially endorsed Fairey\u2019s work\u2014likely due to the posters being illegally wheatpasted in accordance with street art tradition\u2014the newly elected President later sent the artist a letter, which was made public, thanking him for his creative contribution. The letter concluded with the words: \u201cI am privileged to be part of your artwork and proud to have your support.\u201d
The exhibition was accompanied by the publication of a catalog, published by DRAGO.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

MEDIA RETURNS<\/strong><\/h3>\n