ST buddy SHEPARD FAIREY has teamed up with his STUDIO NUMBER ONE (creaters of the “Hope For Haiti” CD cover) designers CLEON PETERSON and CASEY RYDER to create a new poster for HAITI relief based on a photo by TAO RUSPOLI. The $50 signed and numbered edition goes on sale at an unannounced time on Friday, February 5th at Obeygiant.com, with all proceeds from the sales going to ARTISTS FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE:

“Artists for Peace and Justice (APJ), established in early 2009, is a fundraising effort founded by Paul Haggis and friends that encourages peace and social justice and addresses issues of poverty and enfranchisement in communities around the world. Over the past year, APJ has directed its efforts to raising enough funds to fully sponsor three schools in Haiti in support of the initiatives of Father Rick Frechette and his team. These schools aren’t just a place to learn but provide for a hot meal, clean water and a chance at the future to children who desperately need it. Following the devastating earthquake in Haiti, APJ has focused its efforts on raising much needed dollars for emergency aid in the ravaged country that is only a few hours from our shores.”

Shep needs love, and pays graphic homage to one of downtown NYC’s foremost artistic forebears…

By now it’s no secret that JEFFREY DEITCH is closing shop in downtown NYC to head West for the sunnier confines of the MoCA Director’s office, starting June 1st. That leaves SHEPARD FAIREY’s upcoming portrait show as the farewell exhibition at one of the city’s most legendary and influential commercial art institutions in the city’s history. And that’s saying a lot, given SoHo’s storied art legacy. As Shepard toils away in his LA painting studio logging long hours behind the spray can and paintbrush, DEITCH PROJECTS ST’s own Jamie O’Shea dropped by the spot for an exclusive look at the work in progress (portraits of artists, musicians, gurus, and politicians), easily some of his finest to date. Since we couldn’t reveal most of the new works in full, cropped eye shots of the large canvases will have to do for now. Stay tuned to ST for a comprehensive first look as May draws near. Meanwhile, HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »

ST’s own SHEPARD FAIREY has teamed up with his design studio STUDIO NUMBER ONE to create and release a signature T-Shirt to raise money for Haitian relief. Priced at $15 and available through CAFE PRESS, 100% of the shirt’s proceeds with benefit UNICEF, which provides direct aid to displaced Haitian children an helps reunite orphaned children with their family members.

***Please don’t forget you can contribute funds immediately to the RED CROSS by texting “HAITI” to 90999 to donate $10 to their relief efforts in Haiti.

Supertouch buddy LANCE ARMSTRONG has added his custom SHEPARD FAIREY-designed TREK Madone cycle into rotation as he rides in the 100th edition of the legendary GIRO D’ITALIA race in support of teammate LEVI LEIPHEIMER. With a matching Shepard Fairey-designed brain bucket to boot, Lance is sporting a coordinated ensemble that even Bruno would give an enthusiastic “Ach ja.”

*Watch live feed of the Giro daily HERE…

As if LANCE ARMSTRONG’s Supertouch-curated custom SHEPARD FAIREY-designed TREK MADONE road cycle wasn’t enough to snap necks at this month’s GIRO D’ITALIA race, helmet company GIRO has just created a matching lid to up the ante. Incorporating swaths of graphics from Shep’s race bike the helmet might just see the light of day on store shelves as an incredibly limited-edition run with proceeds from sales going to benefit LIVESTRONG. Keep an eye on ST for more updates in the coming week, including the chance to win one of the coveted brain buckets…

Where your brain could end up without one of these lids…

Creating SHEPARD FAIREY’s new TREK MADONE racing cycle for LANCE ARMSTRONG’s run in this month’s GIRO D’ITALIA was no easy task. Luckily, Trek artist SHANE SIEDSCHLAG is nice with a blade and a decal sheet…

When pressed about Shep’s new bike in Rome today, Lance told an AP reporter: “I’m a fan of his artwork. I collect his artwork. The bike that he did for this race I think is pretty stunning.”

It was only a matter of time, Supertouch’s own SHEPARD FAIREY’s iconic OBAMA campaign artwork finally made its way to SOUTH PARK last nite where the Big O received the typical Matt & Tre makeover on the season’s latest episode. Watch it HERE…

BOSTON VANDALISM CHARGES STIR DEBATE ON ART’S PLACE

By Abby Goodnough, NYTimes

BOSTON — This may be the only place in America where Shepard Fairey, the street artist whose omnipresent portrait of Barack Obama has become a touchstone, is not fully feeling the love.

Mr. Fairey’s court appearances came a month after he was arrested on Feb. 6 as he arrived at the opening-night party for his retrospective at the Institute of Contemporary Art. His cab was approaching the museum when the police stopped it, handcuffed him and took him to jail overnight. Click HERE to continue reading…