“If the idea that my safety can only be enhanced by putting other people's privacy and safety in danger, then I don't want to be more safe.” PeopleIfsWantIdeasDangerSafeSafetyPrivacy Author:Shepard Fairey
“There's good and bad in every arena. It's funny, some people, the reason they're in the underground is because they're lazy and don't make things happen for themselves.” PeopleReasonHappensThings HappenLazyArenaGood And BadMake Things Happen Author:Shepard Fairey
“A lot of people thought I got famous as a studio artist, then decided to cash in on it. But it actually was just a matter of survival for many years, and I felt it was really important for me to be able to say whatever I wanted with my street art and fine art.” PeopleYearsArtImportantMatterAbleWantedArtistFeltStreetsFineSurvivalDecidedStudiosCashFine ArtsStreet Art Author:Shepard Fairey
“I think the Internet has definitely made it easier for people to have stuff seen, but it's also encouraged a level of ADD, where you see so much that if it doesn't make an impact on you immediately, you don't look at it.” PeopleIfsThinkingLooksMadeStuffLevelsInternetEasierImpactAddMade It Author:Shepard Fairey
“The great thing about the Internet is, it has made it easier for people who are clever and resourceful to promote themselves.” PeopleMadeInternetEasierCleverGreat ThingsMade ItResourceful Author:Shepard Fairey
“When it comes to the street-art world, there are a lot of people who realize if they go out and put up a few pieces of street art and photograph them really well, even if their locations weren't actually that high-profile or dangerous, with the level of exposure they get from the Internet, with a large audience, they can maintain that rebel cache by having it be theoretically documented street art.” PeopleIfsWorldWellsArtRealizingLevelsAudiencePiecesStreetsDangerousInternetPhotographRebelLocationExposureProfileArt WorldHigh ProfileStreet ArtCache Author:Shepard Fairey
“The Internet hasn't had a chance to really get to where people look at it with the proper level of scrutiny. There's so much bullshit on the Internet. It doesn't get filtered out because it's such a new medium.” PeopleLooksChanceLevelsInternetMediumsBullshitScrutiny Author:Shepard Fairey
“I do think that copyrights and intellectual property are important - it's important to be able to keep people from making verbatim copies of a particular creation that could somehow hurt the creator. If I spend time conceiving and making a piece of art and somebody else sees that it has market value and replicates it in order to steal part of my market, then that's not cool.” PeopleIfsThinkingArtImportantAbleValuesOrderHurtPiecesCreationParticularIntellectualPropertyCreatorStealingCopiesEnd TimesSpend TimeCopyrightIntellectual PropertyReplicateConceiving Author:Shepard Fairey
“The way I make art - the way a lot of people make art - is as an extension of language and communication, where references are incredibly important. It's about making a work that is inspired by something preexisting but changes it to have a new value and meaning that doesn't in any way take away from the original - and, in fact, might provide the original with a second life or a new audience.” PeopleWayArtImportantFactsMightValuesLanguageAudienceCommunicationArt IsOriginalsInspiredExtensionsLanguage And Communication Author:Shepard Fairey
“I think the idea of freedom or liberty is really misused for political reasons, but it's something that resonates with people to the core. People want to be masters of their own destinies, but at the same time, I think they do so selectively. Sometimes they want to be told exactly what to do so they don't have to think for themselves - as long as they can still exercise their free will.” PeopleThinkingWantLongStillsIdeasSometimesReasonPoliticalLibertyDestinyMastersExerciseCoreFree WillMisused Author:Shepard Fairey
“I think the biggest thing that people fear when it comes to art becoming a business is those authentic, pure aspirations of art being compromised.” PeopleThinkingArtBecomingPureArt IsAspiration Author:Shepard Fairey
“I think that the influence of people with power and money to distort democracy and have their interests served before the rest of the population is the biggest problem. That is caused by two things: campaign finance and the way that's structured, and by the Citizen's United supreme court decision. So those two things are keeping democracy from working right.” PeopleThinkingWayTwoProblemInterestDecisionUnitedDemocracyInfluenceCitizensCourtPopulationCampaignsSupremeFinanceTwo ThingsSupreme CourtCampaign FinanceCourt Decision Author:Shepard Fairey
“What excites me is that, when things are tough, people become resourceful, and now with the Internet, social networking and the ability for people who in the past had been relatively powerless, they have tools to be able to spread ideas and organize. The urgency is there and the tools are there and I think that the possibility for really, really powerful results is there. I think it's all brewing, it's all bubbling up right now.” PeopleThinkingIdeasAblePastSocialAbilityResultsPowerfulPossibilityInternetRight NowToughToolsSpreadOrganizePowerlessNetworkingUrgencySocial NetworkingSocial NetworkResourcefulBrewingReally Powerful Author:Shepard Fairey
“A lot of people felt defeated and hopeless by Trump's election. But I feel his election should energize people to resist apathy, ignorance, sexism, xenophobia, and racism.” PeopleIgnoranceRacismElectionHopelessSexismApathyDefeated Author:Shepard Fairey
“I might be botching this quote but I agree with the idea that a measure of society is not how it treats its most powerful but how it treats its most vulnerable, including the poor and incarcerated and - I would add to that - the people whose ideas are not currently in favor.” PeoplePoorPowerfulAgreeVulnerableMost Powerful Author:Shepard Fairey
“I hate to say Americans are ignorant and lazy, but a lot of them are ignorant and lazy. It's just like what I was talking about with Rebel Music and art. When you live in a place that has a lot of good things that make life easier, it's easier to take them for granted. But what frustrates me to no end are people who want to blame Obama or blame anything that is something that if they were actually doing anything as simple as voting, it might not be as bad as it is.” PeopleArtHateSimpleI HateBlameGood ThingsIgnorantGrantedLazyVotingRebel Author:Shepard Fairey
“The sticker has no meaning, but exists only to cause people to react, to contemplate and search for meaning.” PeopleCausesContemplatingSearch For MeaningSticker Author:Shepard Fairey
“I've never had an original thought in my lifeand there's tons of people on the internet happy to tell me just that.” PeopleInternetOriginalsOriginal Thought Author:Shepard Fairey
“The way I make art, the way a lot of people make art, is as an extension of language and communication, where references are incredibly important.” PeopleWayArtImportantLanguageCommunicationArt IsExtensionsGraffitiLanguage And Communication Author:Shepard Fairey
“The problem with copyright enforcement is that when the parameters aren't incredibly well defined, it means big corporations, who have deeper pockets and better lawyers, can bully people.” PeopleWellsMeanProblemBigsDeeperLawyerDefinedCorporationsPocketsEnforcementBullyCopyrightGraffitiParametersBig Corporations Author:Shepard Fairey
“Creating is about sharing ideas, sharing aesthetics, sharing what you believe in with other people.” PeopleBelieveArtIdeasShareCreatingAestheticsGraphic DesignIllustratorsInspirational ArtSharing Ideas Author:Shepard Fairey
“Public art is ephemeral by nature. Google 's new project not only catalogs an artist's work but archives it and allows people to see the art long after it has disappeared.” PeopleLongArtArtistProjectsArt IsGoogleEphemeralArchivesNew ProjectsPublic Art Author:Shepard Fairey
