The Street Artist Who Won’t Quit: The Story Of Shepard Fairey

He Doesn’t Care If He Loses Fans Over His Work

Of course, Fairey can’t be bothered by people’s accusations. He told Interview, “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. But I’ve never put business before what I’ve wanted to say. One of the reasons I worked for years as a graphic designer was that I knew I’d have a solid income. So if I made an anti-Bush or anti-war-in-Iraq poster when it was an unpopular position, it wouldn’t matter that 25 percent of my e-mail group unsubscribed—which is actually what happened at the time.”