Monkey Pod (Red and Gold VSE)

Shepard Fairey (b. 1970, USA) "MONKEY POD" - RED & GOLD VSE; #9/20; Measurements are 26.5 x 20.5 inches. Variable Stencil Edition (VSE) on Paper. Hand Signed by Shepard Fairey, American contemporary street artist, graphic artist, and muralist. This work of art is from a very small numbered edition of 20. Comes with a Certificate of Authenticity. The Hecho Con Ganas Publishing Chop is in lower left corner.

This Monkey Pod VSE (Variable Stencil Edition) is a collaboration produced with my good friend and former co-worker Ernesto Yerena. Each piece is a stencil painting with letterpress lantern images glued in position to add an additional dimension to the art. The price difference between the two variable editions is because of the greater technical and labor-intensive demands of the red and gold version. A portion of the proceeds from these stencil pieces will go to the NRDC to support their efforts to improve environmental regulations and policies.
I originally made the Monkey Pod image based on a tree on the grounds of The Contemporary Museum in Honolulu, where I completed a residency back in 2005. I was presented with a unique conundrum: Hawaii doesn’t have outdoor advertising, which my street art was designed to compete with and make people question. After visiting Hawaii, I realized that the primary form of propaganda was not advertising but the clichés of Hawaii itself: Coke machines have palm trees instead of Coke logos on them, phone booths have floral patterns running down the side, and everyone wears Aloha shirts. All the clichés of Hawaii’s picturesque beauty are perpetuated to encourage tourism. However, for once, I got to make art that was decorative, beautiful, and a celebration of nature while still incorporating my iconography in a conceptually, if not visually incongruous, way. – Shepard