“I've met Obama a few times, and I think Obama's a quality human being, but I think that he finds himself in a position where your actions are largely dictated by things out of your control. I'm not giving him a pass for not being more courageous, but I do think the entire system needs an overhaul and taking money out of politics would be a really good first step.” ThinkingNeedsGivingFirstsHumansWould BeActionHuman BeingsQualityStepsPositionMetsCourageousFirst Steps Author:Shepard Fairey
“I think "punk" should really be defined as paving your own way creatively and by defying any sort of orthodoxy or commercial pressure.” ThinkingWayShouldPressureDefinedPunkOrthodoxyDefyingPaving Author:Shepard Fairey
“I think the freedom to express one's views is more important than intellectual property.” ThinkingImportantViewsIntellectualPropertyIntellectual Property 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
“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
“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
“I think that what led largely to Trump's election was the manifestation of the too-common mindset that facts don't matter; in other words, "manifest destiny" - the truth will not penetrate the barriers of our ideology if the truth doesn't sit well with our predispositions.” ThinkingDestinyElectionMindsetIdeologyManifestationBarriersManifest Author:Shepard Fairey
“I try to find a balance between positivity and negativity, celebration and critique in my work; I think there is room for both.” ThinkingTryingBalancePositivityCelebrationNegativityCritique Author:Shepard Fairey
“I don't agree with most forms of censorship, and I especially don't agree with the idea that one needs to be from the same cultural, ethnic, or religious background as the subjects they portray in order to be qualified to portray those subjects. I believe that compassion and empathy should cross all of those category barriers, and the conversations art creates can be inflammatory initially, but I think are most often constructive and healing in the long run.” ThinkingBelieveLongArtRunningI BelieveReligiousHealingCompassionEmpathyAgreeBarriersCensorship Author:Shepard Fairey
“Art making comes from the human desire to share something that is universal in one sense, but unique to your sensibility in another. I think that, wherever you are in the world, that impulse exists within human beings.” ThinkingWorldArtDesireShareUniqueImpulseSensibility Author:Shepard Fairey
“Obama has had a really tough time, but there have been a lot of things that he's compromised on that I never would have expected. I mean, drones and domestic spying are the last things I would have thought he'd support. I've met Obama a few times, and I think Obama's a quality human being, but I think that he finds himself in a position where your actions are largely dictated by things out of your control. I'm not giving him a pass for not being more courageous, but I do think the entire system needs an overhaul and taking money out of politics would be a really good first step.” ThinkingGivingMeanActionQualitySupportToughCourageousTough Times Author:Shepard Fairey
“Art shows and the institutions end up being the couriers for culture for the next generation and are an important component as well. It may seem ironic from one perspective, but I think if you look at my overall strategy, it's actually not out of step.” IfsThinkingWellsLooksMayArtImportantEndsShowsSeemsCultureNextStepsGenerationsPerspectiveInstitutionsStrategyIronicComponentsNext GenerationGraffiti Author:Shepard Fairey
