Top 85 Quotes & Sayings by Shepard Fairey

I've never really considered myself just a street artist. I consider myself a populist.

The argument that most lawmakers make about graffiti is that it's illegal because it's an eyesore, but you could easily argue that a lot of advertising is an eyesore.

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.

When I think about how I want to reach an audience, I just wanted to make pieces that were inspired by something that gave me so much pleasure.

Most campaigns rely on photographs because the moment you do something that is a graphic interpretation where any artistic license has been taken, I think a lot of people are scared that it's going to be perceived as propaganda.

Propaganda has a negative connotation, which it partially deserves, but I think there is some propaganda that is very positive. I feel that if you can do something that gets people's attention, then maybe they'll go and find out more about the person.

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.

When I made my Obey logo, it was 100 percent an homage to Barbara Kruger's work and 0 percent had anything to do with Supreme.

Tim Armstrong is a good friend.

I think that art has the ability to capture people's imaginations and make them think that more is possible.

In the case of the Obama poster, I was just exercising my First Amendment rights - and my free speech is exercised visually. People who want to talk or write in order to share an opinion about Obama can do that, but when I want to say what I think about him, I need to make a portrait.

I want to be proud of this country, but when aspects of our policy don't align with my ethics, I want to protest them and try to change them.

When you walk down the street and see something in a crazy spot, there's something powerful about that. The street will always be an important part of getting art out there for me.

On the street, people aren't bashful. They will say if they like something or if they think it sucks.

I admire Ai Weiwei for his art and his activism. His art is beautiful in form, and in function embodies the principles of populism and social consciousness I aspire to in my own practice.

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.

If any group wants to not be disenfranchised, then understanding that there's going to be a learning curve for people who have disenfranchised them is important.

People romanticize struggle and obscurity, and I get that, but it's a very one-dimensional argument to say that people who have money are evil, and artists who are poor are virtuous.

I was a huge Operation Ivy fan.

I'm not going to be intimidated by people or identity politics. I think that's a dead end.

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.

One of the reasons I started my clothing line was because I went into an Urban Outfitters, and they were bootlegging my star logo on T-shirts.

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.

I consider myself a multi-platform artist - not just a street artist - but the audience I found through street art has created many of the opportunities I now have on other platforms.

The most important thing about intellectual property vs. creative expression is that copyright law was created not to stifle creativity but to encourage creativity.

I try to make my clothing line an entry point for discovering the substance of the rest of my work.

I never set out to be a groundbreaking artist in the sense of doing something that's never been done before. I set out to make stuff that communicated quickly and effectively, playing off of advertising, pop art, and pop culture.

My idea about the role of artists is to get people to look at things in a way that's different than the way they normally would if they are being told how to think, what to do. I think when people receive information through art, they are more open-minded.

I hoped that Obama would be a delivery vehicle for change on issues I care about, but I never expect one politician to be the solution to the diverse array of issues I care about.

Street art, of course, is political, because it's illegal, so the very act of doing it is an act of defiance.

I don't have this obsessive need to do street art all the time because it's already opened doors for me.

When Justin Bieber started wearing the Obey bar logo, we discontinued it. That was kinda one of the last straws.

I think 'punk' should really be defined as paving your own way creatively and by defying any sort of orthodoxy or commercial pressure.

I've been making pieces dealing with environmental issues at least since 2004; I mean, I did stuff for the Sierra Club and the Alaskan Wildlife Refuge even back in the 1990s. But somewhere a little after 2004, Hummer hits me up. I'm like, 'Are you kidding me?'

If you're creating something that has some sort of cultural currency - if the idea is getting out there - then that will probably yield money in some form, whether it's through selling art or selling books or being asked to give a lecture.

Greater financial success has allowed me to be more generous.

For me, there has always been a disconnect with the sort of elitist structure of the high-art world - and my distaste for that is at odds with my feeling that art should aspire to do great things.

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.

As a street artist, I'm used to sharing my stuff with the public. It's a communal experience. I've learned not to be so precious, but rather to enjoy the process.

Every spoof gives more power to the original.

The sticker has no meaning, but exists only to cause people to react, to contemplate and search for meaning.

I think the freedom to express one's views is more important than intellectual property.

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.

Skateboarding has always been and continues to be creative and rebellious. Art and design are an extremely important part of skateboard culture, even if it's not recognized by the more elitist or pretentious members of the art world. Skateboarding itself requires creative adaptation to the streets and obstacles. My background as a skateboarder helped me to be a better street artist because I was already conditioned to look at the terrain opportunistically.

Why is non-commercial public expression considered criminal?

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.

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.

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.

I try to find a balance between positivity and negativity, celebration and critique in my work; I think there is room for both.

Art is not always meant to be decorative or soothing, in fact, it can create uncomfortable conversations and stimulate uncomfortable emotions.

Just because you've reached a certain level of success, that doesn't mean you've become corrupted by the system.

I'm mischievous. The idea of taking risks and having real-world consequences energizes me.

I've never had an original thought in my lifeand there's tons of people on the internet happy to tell me just that.

If being original means having to throw paint in front of a jet turbine to hit a canvas 50 ft away then lets not be original.

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.

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.

Free speech is important whether you like what's being said or not. The reason why it's so important is that the entire spectrum of ideas needs to be heard so that the best ones are embraced and rise to the top. If you're a liberal and don't like conservative speech and you try to stifle that conservative speech, you need to be prepared for your own progressive speech to be stifled when the power shifts out of your favor.

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.

Creating is about sharing ideas, sharing aesthetics, sharing what you believe in with other people.

I want to be proud of this country [the USA], but when aspects of our policy don't align with my ethics, I want to protest them and try to change them. Being complicit because it's the home team is nationalism, not patriotism.