By Paula Briggs

This resources explores aspects of Fairey’s work, as shared with teenagers aged 12 and 13.

In particular the resource takes inspiration from Fairey’s methods of production and use of imagery to make work which might be defined as propaganda art. You can see the practical studio session which followed our exploration here and our resulting outcomes here.

Frank Shepard Fairey (born February 15, 1970) is an American contemporary street artist, graphic designer, activist, illustrator and founder of OBEY Clothing who emerged from the skateboarding scene. He first became known for his “Andre the Giant Has a Posse” (…OBEY…) sticker campaign while attending the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD).

Fairey became widely known during the 2008 U.S. presidential election for his Barack Obama “Hope” poster. The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston has described him as one of the best known and most influential street artists.^[4]  Wikipedia

Videos Sharing Fairey’s Creative Practice

Teenagers were shown the following videos in which Fairey shares aspects of his creative process.

After watching the videos, the group discussed the various stages/actions of Fairey’s printmaking process:

• Making a printable surface: collaging papers with history and painting over them
• Creating stencils for use with screen printing or spray paint
• Layering of imagery
• Sanding
• Varnishing

We also discussed his use of symbols or icons and visually strong graphics.

Using the images below as starting points for further discussion, we also briefly talked about:

• What is propaganda art?
• What kinds of visual devices might it rely upon?
• How does Fairey use and limit colour?
• How does he use text within his imagery?

See how the teenagers went on to define their own “message to the world” here.

https://obeygiant.com/

This is a sample of a resource created by UK Charity AccessArt. We have over 1500 resources to help develop and inspire your creative thinking, practice and teaching.

AccessArt welcomes artists, educators, teachers and parents both in the UK and overseas.

We believe everyone has the right to be creative and by working together and sharing ideas we can enable everyone to reach their creative potential.

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Arts and Minds: Time to Introduce Ourselves – A Sculpture Challenge

We kicked off the programme with a quick making challenge which would act as an ice-breaker and introduce students to an array of materials.

Arts and Minds: Asemic Writing and Invented Text

Students were given the opportunity to further explore expressive mark making as a tool for self-expression and a vehicle for communication.

Arts and Minds: Expressive Monoprinting on a Big Scale

Students enjoyed monoprinting on a large scale by rolling printing ink and acrylic paint directly onto the table and experimenting with ways to take prints.

Constructing the World with Collage

Students were invited to use their previously created monoprints to construct large scale collages inspired by the landscape surrounding the college.

Manipulating Clay with Water

In this session teenagers had an abundance of clay and the freedom to play and manipulate form.

With Special Thanks To:

And to Pink Pig sketchbooks for their continued support of AccessArt and providing young people with beautiful books for this project.

Building to the Limit

In this session students were given the challenge of making building blocks out of mixed media and using them to build a sculpture. They were encouraged to experiment with balancing different elements together and setting themselves the challenge of seeing how far they could build before their constructions collapsed.

Drawing for Mindfulness

Students were guided on drawing exercises designed to explore drawing as a tool for seeing and being in the here and now.

Feeling Through Drawing

Students were led on a guided drawing experience of drawing through touch.

Arts and Minds: A ‘Heart-Work’ Conversation

Teenagers were introduced to graphite, charcoal, masking tape and acrylic paint as mediums for communal expressive mark making. A collective drawing was produced, whereby students were encouraged to work in collaboration and in response to each other.

UK Charity AccessArt welcomes artists, educators, teachers and parents both in the UK and overseas.

We believe everyone has the right to be creative and by working together and sharing ideas we can enable everyone to reach their creative potential.

Join AccessArt from only £3.50 per month and enjoy full access to hundreds more resources!

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#WHATDIDMYCHILDMAKE