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Shepard Fairey

Hand-painted Faux Show Cards, Wheatpastes & Woody Guthrie the Sign-Painter

Contrary to popular mythology, it was with paint brushes in hand, not a guitar, that [Woody] Guthrie hit the road for California. He had hocked his guitar . . . and it was his artistic skills that he brokered for room and board.Nora Guthrie

For Woody Guthrie dot org © Shepard Fairey, Obey Giant

I’ve had more than my share of time on my hands the last few days – off my feet due to an accident – and I’ve been watching Turner Classics. We watched back-to-back The Grapes of Wrath, based on Steinbeck’s brutal retelling of the Dustbowl era and how big industry exploited American migrant workers during our great economic catastrophe (sound familiar?), and Bound For Glory, the story of Woody Guthrie’s phenomenal yet  humble beginnings of an illustrious career played quite convincingly by David Carradine. During both films, the stark reality of how history repeats itself was made evident – and now yet again the American majority is being exploited by bailed-out banking institutions and holier-than-thou conservative politicians.

Woody Guthrie: Art Works - Rizzoli Books - Authors Steven Brower & Nora Guthrie

As I went walking I saw a sign there – And on the sign it said “No Trespassing.” – But on the other side it didn’t say nothing, – That side was made for you and me. – Alternative verse from This Land is Your Land – Woodie Guthrie

Woody’s first chosen pursuit was painting illustrations and text — he painted signs for businesses to earn a living as a young man before his music became the wellspring of his legacy. As powerful as music can be as medium for social change, the melding of slogans & graphic images has been a powerful and enduring propagandistic tool for both worthy and misguided causes. From Shepard Fairey‘s brilliant Obama Hope Campaign posters to the early hand-painted wall ads for tobacco companies, text and image has been used to persuade, convert, or pervert the masses. Naturally, I was delighted to see Fairey’s “exquisite print” he created for Guthrie’s centennial as a fundraiser when I went to the Official Guthrie Website after seeing the film of his early life. Yet even the simplest urging from a handcrafted store sign or for a sale generated by a stylistic grocery store show card can stop you in your tracks and send you down the aisle looking for a circular coupon. On the Kaufmann Mercantile blog the art of the “snappers,” the slang term that was used to call sign painters, is celebrated and analyzed.

Mixed type and tense lines. From Simplified Show Card Writing, Carl Rousseau Havighorst, 1942 via The Annie Show via Newhouse Books- Kaufmann Mercantile CLICK FOR LINK

Below are the works of who I believe to be a single anonymous snapper who has been posting show cards with wheat paste for ironic and dubious products at bargain prices from the shores of the Gowanus to the wigwams of Tacoma over the last eight years. No clue as to who he or she is but would love to give a proper artists’ credit to the creator of these humors ads with the stylish fonts.

Tacoma Faux Show Card Wheatpaste - Previously posted 8-27-2009 - © Frank H. Jump

Myrtle & Bedford Avenues in August 2005 - Previously posted on FAB on May 4, 2008

Sunset Park Industrial - Hamilton Ave - Previously posted on February 20, 2008 © Frank H. Jump

Other wheatpaste mural art:

Woody Guthrie sites of interest:

Keep A Breast Foundation – The Non-Toxic Revolution Campaign

Seattle –

The Non-Toxic Revolution Campaign

Ballard Bridge Overpass - NW Market St & 15th Avenue NW - KABF

Ballard Bridge Overpass - NW Market St & 15th Avenue NW - KABF

University District NE 45th Street & 12th Avenue NE - KABF

Qwest Field - 1st Avenue South - KABF

Crossroads Trading Company - 325 Broadway Avenue East - KABF

Golden Gardens Park - 8498 Seaview Place NW - KABF

The Keep A Breast Foundation announces the Non Toxic Revolution campaign. The goal of the Non Toxic Revolution (NTR) is to inform and educate young people about the dangers of toxic chemicals in our environment and food supply and the link to breast cancer. The program focuses on prevention as a means to maintain long-term health and well-being by providing alternatives so that young people everywhere can make educated decisions.

Keep A Breast has partnered with the design firm Studio Number One founded by artist Shepard Fairey, to create a campaign that will ––encourage youth to embrace prevention as a deterrent to breast cancer and other diseases. NTR strives to enlighten youth about some of thecommon toxins that scientists and informed health advocates are advising thepublic to avoid. Keep A Breast believes the more this generation understands, the better choices they will make to stay healthy and cancer-free.

“I have been a supporter of The Keep A Breast Foundation for over 10 years,” stated Fairey. “When they asked me to be a part of their Non Toxic Revolution initiative, I jumped on the chance to help create images. Social causes and issues related to art is what drives the Obey Awareness projects, so a graphic program for Keep A Breast to raise awareness about toxic chemicals was a perfect fit. Breast cancer prevention is personal for me because I have lost two Aunts to breast cancer, and my Mother is a breast cancer survivor. I feel privileged to work with KAB and hope that the work my studio, Studio Number One, and I created can be helpful to this important cause.”

The campaign that launches today includes information on how to make your environment non toxic by following ten simple rules for different aspects of your life including: Your House, Your Mouth, Your Body, Plastic Sucks, Heart and Soul and Your Pet. Visit wwww.kabntr.org to learn how NTR will break down scientific journals into easy to read and comprehend tips, as well as educate people on how they can get involved and petition for safer products and better legislation.

NTR will embark– on a 8-city tour to help inspire and educate young people about toxic chemicals infecting our food, products, and environment. The campaign tour will strive to be as non toxic as possible starting with a truck converted to run on vegetable oil – With a team of volunteers, artists and activists embedded in each city, the tour seeks to educate, inspire and activate individuals to be more aware of the harmful and cancerous toxic chemicals found in our food and environment have on all of us.  – KABF

Portland –

The Non-Toxic Revolution Campaign

Acme Artwalk - Portland, OR - The Non-Toxic Revolution - KABF

KABF

KABF

KABF

Burnside Skatepark Overhang - KABF

KABF - NTF Horse