Ahead of this weekend’s airing of the 500th episode of The Simpsons in the US (the episode will air in March in Australia) which will star the notorious WikiLeaks whistleblower, Julian Assange, it has been announced that Obey, aka Shepard Fairey – one of America’s most prolific street artists, illustrators and graphic designers – will guest star in Episode 15 of the show’s 23rd season.
Shepard will star as himself, alongside established street artists Ron English, Kenny Sharf and Robbie Congal in the episode ‘Exit Through The Kwik-E-Mart,‘ an experience he likens to being “honored as a reference point in culture.”
“But you also can’t be too sensitive about that part of culture being made fun of… There’s irony that comes with something outsider becoming insider. And they do a great job of examining that.”
Like Assange, Fairey’s considerable output has the capacity for provocation as acknowledged by Barack Obama, whose iconic ‘Hope’ poster and street campaign encouraged a younger generation to the polls, saying his art “whether seen in a gallery or on a stop sign, has the ability to encourage Americans to question the status quo.”
Question the status quo, like this perhaps?
Via Obey
