This year, the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation launches its "Artist as Activist" print project and has chosen Shepard Fairey to create the inaugural "Artist as Activist" print.
Seventy prints from the edition of 100 will be offered for sale exclusively through artnet Auctions. Prices for this signature work by Fairey will start at $1250.00 and escalate in price as the prints sell with the final 15 selling for $2500.00.
As described by the artist:
"My piece, "The Future Is Unwritten", evolved from several points of inspiration. Visually, the piece takes cues from the idealized styles of Art Nouveau and Art Deco. These art movements just preceded, and crossed into, the Great Depression, an era that saw a tremendous social aid effort under Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The text, "The Future Is Unwritten" is a quote from Joe Strummer of the punk group The Clash, who was a dedicated advocate for the working class. The flower growing from the barbed wire in my art piece is symbolic of the negative being overcome by the positive, a visual metaphor for hope in the unwritten future. The text LIBERTY, SHELTER, and EQUALITY refers to values, if not rights, that most people see as universally important. I see liberty as a right that fosters independence and self-determination, but which must be balanced by social responsibility and compassion for the less fortunate. It is only possible for society to evolve in a positive direction with a healthy balance of honoring both the needs of the individual, and promoting basic human rights and equality of the collective." ~Shepard Fairey, 2011.
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