Obey (Shepard Fairey), Power, silkscreen print, 46x61 cm, 2010
Power is a silkscreen print by the American artist and street artist Shepard Fairey, also known as Obey.
The work originated as an illustration for an essay published in PAPER magazine by publisher Carlo McCormick, who had also written a chapter in Obey's book 'Supply and Demand'.
The image is an homage to the influential pop artist Roy Lichtenstein, who appropriated and repainted comic book frames, often reinterpreting them in meaning and context. The artist described his own art as a fusion of pop art, street art and political art.
The work represents the power of art against war: with a simple, immediate and impactful graphic style, Obey draws a spray can in the shape of a hand grenade. The silkscreen print is signed in the bottom right-hand corner and numbered in a limited edition of 450.
