Shepard Fairey

Shepard Fairey was born on February 15, 1970 in South Carolina. Fairey graduated from the Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts in Idyllwild, California in 1988, and graduated from Rhode Island School of Design in 1992 in Illustration.

One of Fairey’s most known works is the Obey campaign. The OBEY sticker campaign goes along with an experiment in Phenomenology. The purpose of this is to spark curiosity and thought. He is also well known for the HOPE print with Obama.

 
Shepard Fairey’s work displays the messages of similar issues that I have worked with from Amnesty International. Some of his work deals with issues of oppression and some show images of leaders. One of the people in Fairey’s prints is Aung San Suu Kyi.  Along with the portrait of Suu Kyi, there are three phrases; Freedom to Lead, Democracy in Burma, Support Human Rights. This print gives the viewer a brief snapshot of Aung San Suu Kyi, and leads them to question more and act up. I want my work to create a similar reaction.

Shepard Fairey has dealt with issues of appropriation of imagery. This is something that may come up when working from other peoples photos. When working with Amnesty International cases, I do not have the opportunity to take my own photos of the people that I am drawing.

http://obeygiant.com/

Daniel van Benthuysen

Daniel van Benthuysen was born in St. Louis, Missouri and currently lives in Huntington, Long Island, New York. He studied at Saint Louis Priory School in St. Louis, Missouri, Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, Michigan Tulane University in New Orleans, Parsons School of Design in New York, Art Students League of New York, and Hofstra University in New York. He has focused in Studio Art, Art History, and Graphic Design.

Van Benthuysen works with many drawing materials, such as pencil; charcoal, conte, and pens, as well as watercolor, gouache, and oil paints. Van Benthuysen has showed work in New York, Connecticut, Georgia, Washington DC, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Illinois, and Missouri. His work has been accepted to several juried group shows and shows at the Art Students League of New York. In 2010, van Benthuysen had a solo show called "The Light Which Defines Them" at the Northport Wine Cellar.

He is currently working as an Assistant Professor of Informational Graphics at Hofstra University and as a freelance writer for Newsday with the Wall Street Journal.

“The image of someone wearing a paper crown is almost inevitably facetious and self-deprecating. The wearer usually has an expression that seems to say, "I'm a king or queen -- but we all know this is just silly pretending." I find it refreshing to do portraiture of people in attitudes that show they don't take themselves too seriously. There is enough genuinely pompous portraiture in the world already.”

This is a part of Daniel van Benthuysen’s Artist Statement.

I like how his paintings are somewhat gestural. I enjoy the imagery, but I do not believe that is has to be all about not taking themselves seriously. A lot can be said from the portraits. Each face has the ability to tell a story. Messages can be embedded in the appearance of a person. 

http://www.danvanb.com/home

RJ Clark

RJ Clark is currently working and living in Virginia Beach. Clark works in both painting and drawing. Clark earned degrees from North Carolina State University and Duke University. RJ Clark has shown work in Washington DC, North Carolina, Connecticut, New York, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Florida. In 2007, Clark won Best in Show at the National Juried Fine Art Exhibition in Richmond, Virginia. He also won an Experimental Art Award in the Southern Watercolor Society 30th Annual Exhibition in Moultrie, Georgia. In 2008, he won Potomic Valley Watercolorist Award in the Southern Watercolor Society 31st Annual Exhibition in Quincy, Florida.

Clark’s portraits represent a powerful image. Many of them look photorealistic. The quality of his portrait drawings is something that I admire. When I look at Clark’s portraits, I see a powerful gaze from the subject. Each of the people looks like they have a story to tell. The people within his work are placed in a setting that does not distract from the gaze of that person, but adds to the overall image.

http://www.rjclarkart.com/