Let There Be Dark (Blue)
From The Giant: The Definitive Obey Giant Site
Year: 2019
Run Size: 150
Part of Set: none
Size: 18x24
Paper: Speckle Tone Paper
Print Type: Screen Print
Release Date: 11/18/2019
From Obey Giant:
The Stooges made a lot of my favorite music, so of course I’m a huge fan of their guitarist Ron Asheton. I’ve also been a big fan since the ’90s of the artist Niagara Detroit who makes very stylish, pop-noir paintings with a dark sense of humor and sly wit. What I did not know until maybe 15 years ago, is that Ron Asheton and Niagara, both hailing from Detroit, were romantically and musically entangled! They played together in Destroy All Monsters and Dark Carnival… both great post-Stooges bands. I’ve become friends with Niagara, so we decided to collaborate by both making Ron and Niagara portrait art, which we’d then hand over to the other to enhance/destroy as they saw fit.
I chose an image of Ron and Niagara where I think they both look amazing, but there was a nice balance between in-your-face aggression with Ron’s pose making eye contact holding his fist up, and Niagara’s seemingly demure embrace of Ron, but anyone who knows Niagara understands that though she may look sedate, she’s pulling the strings. I added a switchblade that she is caressing with her finger, as a way to amplify her femme fatale chic, and because I thought it lent itself to my original idea of a title ‘Bonnie & Clyde Were Lightweights’.” – Shepard
This collaborative edition is now available at 1xRUN!
"For 'Tomorrow’s Another Night' I chose an image of Ron and Niagara where I think they both look amazing, but there was a nice balance between in-your-face aggression with Ron’s pose making eye contact holding his fist up, and Niagara’s seemingly demure embrace of Ron, but anyone who knows Niagara understands that though she may look sedate, she’s pulling the strings. I added a switchblade that she is caressing with her finger, as a way to amplify her femme fatale chic, and because I thought it lent itself to my original idea of a title ‘Bonnie & Clyde Were Lightweights.’" - Shepard Fairey "Shepard’s images of us are done so well. It’s not easy to get to the essence and Shepard has honed his powers to perfection. I’ve also always loved doing collages and inking. For Shepard’s image background, I only used Destroy All Monsters or Dark Carnival’s real press & vintage flyers. I just grabbed a couple handfuls & combed through, cut out, glued down and passed out.
For our portraits in 'Let There Be Dark,' I thought Ron & I should be live-action onstage. I painted ourselves on canvas in black and silver (silver paint & silver metal leaf.) I closely recreated of a photo of myself. Ron’s image is a composite of photos and memories. It is as close to reality as it had been onstage. Just the facts." - Niagara
"For my addition to Niagara’s art, I riffed upon newspaper headlines and punk flyers with my own pattern elements woven in as well. To me, punk has always been about provocation and an ability to work both inside and outside the framework of mass culture. I love Niagara’s subversive sense of humor, so I did my best Niagara impersonation with the fake newspaper headline ‘Let There Be Dark.’" - Shepard Fairey
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