Recently we found ourselves in Cincinnati. After taking in some of the local cusine (a Skyline Chili "3-way"; yes that is the actual name) we decided to see if we couldn't find some of those Shepard Fairey murals that went up in conjunction with his retrospective show "Shepard Fairey: Supply and Demand" at the city's Contemporary Art Center.
We figured that since Cincinnati was a hotbed of right wing, anti-art types (remember the prosecution in 1990 of Dennis Barrie for showing Mapplethorpe?), most likely the murals would have been painted over (like this one in Kentucky was within days of it's completion) or vandalized (like the Dietch mural). Many in Cincinnati, no doubt, believe that Shepard Fairey was the Joseph Goebbles of the 2008 presidential election. Surely they wouldn't allow for gigantic propaganda installations from a progressive, communist, socialist, fascist, muslim-loving, supporter of the destruction of traditional marriage like Shepard Fairey to go unchallenged.
To our amazement, many of the murals we were able to locate were pristine. The others were only slightly damaged, exhibiting varying degrees of minor peeling, and some super light toy tagging. There was also one individual with a can of brown spray paint and a small stencil of Michael Jackson (ca. 1971 / Jackson 5 era) who had left his mark on a couple of the larger installations, but that was the pretty much the extent of it. There were no visible political attacks directed towards the murals, anywhere. Way to go Ohio!
Check out the murals on our Flicker set.
Stay on top of all things Shepard Fairey related at OBEYGIANT.
We figured that since Cincinnati was a hotbed of right wing, anti-art types (remember the prosecution in 1990 of Dennis Barrie for showing Mapplethorpe?), most likely the murals would have been painted over (like this one in Kentucky was within days of it's completion) or vandalized (like the Dietch mural). Many in Cincinnati, no doubt, believe that Shepard Fairey was the Joseph Goebbles of the 2008 presidential election. Surely they wouldn't allow for gigantic propaganda installations from a progressive, communist, socialist, fascist, muslim-loving, supporter of the destruction of traditional marriage like Shepard Fairey to go unchallenged.
To our amazement, many of the murals we were able to locate were pristine. The others were only slightly damaged, exhibiting varying degrees of minor peeling, and some super light toy tagging. There was also one individual with a can of brown spray paint and a small stencil of Michael Jackson (ca. 1971 / Jackson 5 era) who had left his mark on a couple of the larger installations, but that was the pretty much the extent of it. There were no visible political attacks directed towards the murals, anywhere. Way to go Ohio!
Check out the murals on our Flicker set.
Stay on top of all things Shepard Fairey related at OBEYGIANT.
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