Everything seemed so deliciously coincidental. The piece is located on the side of an Urban Outfitters, a store predicated on superficiality and the coopting of cultural imagery that is watered down and mass-produced because it's "cool." And then we have Fairey, a white kid from South Carolina, being paid by a museum in La Jolla (one of the wealthiest communities in California) to paste up a giant portrait of Angela Davis. Fairey, of course, became famous by using an image of Andre the Giant. The connection to Professional Wrestling, perhaps the most pure and simple commodification of exoticism, racism, sexism and bigotry, is particularly sweet.
When it comes to his art, Fairey states he is not an activist, he only sometimes uses cultural and/or political imagery to communicate his feelings. Fairey's work is controversial, I suppose, in both its nature and content. Fairey, himself, has been repeatedly accused of stealing or at least failing to give credit for the imagery in his art. Likewise, has Urban Outfitters.
Shortly after its completion, it got tagged. The tagging was a nice commentary on the ephemeral nature of street art, and much more poignant than the original piece, which is merely a staged representation of what it claims to be. The tagging was scrubbed, however, and the piece has remained as is, until recently.
A few weeks after the piece went up, an illustration was posted nearby outlining proposed construction in the adjacent lot that would obscure the piece entirely. A month or so ago, construction began, and in a few weeks it will be gone. I can't help but think that this was all part of the plan, perhaps to legitimize the project. In either case, it seems to be a perfect ending.
When it comes to his art, Fairey states he is not an activist, he only sometimes uses cultural and/or political imagery to communicate his feelings. Fairey's work is controversial, I suppose, in both its nature and content. Fairey, himself, has been repeatedly accused of stealing or at least failing to give credit for the imagery in his art. Likewise, has Urban Outfitters.
Shortly after its completion, it got tagged. The tagging was a nice commentary on the ephemeral nature of street art, and much more poignant than the original piece, which is merely a staged representation of what it claims to be. The tagging was scrubbed, however, and the piece has remained as is, until recently.
A few weeks after the piece went up, an illustration was posted nearby outlining proposed construction in the adjacent lot that would obscure the piece entirely. A month or so ago, construction began, and in a few weeks it will be gone. I can't help but think that this was all part of the plan, perhaps to legitimize the project. In either case, it seems to be a perfect ending.
