Artist Shepard "Obama Hope Graphic" Fairey unveils 15-story mural of Johnny Cash
The artist behind the iconic Hope print used in Barack Obamas 2008 presidential campaign, Shepard Fairey has unveiled his most ambitious work yet, a 15-story mural of Johnny Cash in Sacramento to honour the 50th anniversary of Cashs Live at Folsom Prison.
As part of the Wide Open Walls festival, Fairey along with his assistants completed the impressive piece on the side of the Residence Inn by Marriott over the span of a week, for 11 hours each day.
The fire red, orange and yellow graphic was based on a photo by famed music photographer Jim Marshall that Fairey originally used in his American Civics series.
The mural not only serves as a tribute to the country legend, but also to one of Cashs most personal causes, prison reform. Fairey shared in a statement:
Im grateful to be able to create this image on such a large scale as a tribute for the 50th anniversary of Cashs Live at Folsom Prison album, and I hope that this art will ignite a conversation around the need for incarceration reform. According to a recent in-depth study by the Prison Policy Initiative, America has the highest incarceration rate in the world with a shocking 2.3 million people currently imprisoned.
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