Artist Shepard Fairey, whose best known for the Barack Obama "Hope" artwork that became an indelible part of the 2008 Obama Presidential campaign, is in town for Art Chicago, where he's installed a piece in the Merchandise Mart's South Lobby. While in town, More Fairey artwork, including his other notable piece of work, the Andre the Giant-inspired "Obey" artwork, has popped up around town in the form of graffiti tags. Some of those tags have been tagged themselves. more ›

Look, we all appreciate street art. Even 1st Ward Ald. Proco Joe Moreno, the new go-to graffiti blasting quotesman, has said it’s not street art qua street art he’s against, it’s the destruction of property aspect of it all. Whatever. If arting on a wall is destroying it, we have bigger problems. The fact is, Chicago’s infamous war on graffiti has only entrenched this city’s street art credentials. The biggest threat to street art is street art itself. Gimmicky and hypocritical marketing techniques, like those used this week by the Maxwell Colette Gallery and Pawn Works to pump up tonight’s Gaia show, aren’t just taking the “street” out of street art, they’re taking away the fun. more ›

The air is getting crisper, the leaves are turning, and the fall art scene is kicking into gear. Here’s a few contemporary exhibits we think you won’t want to miss: more ›

Remember Shepard Fariey's iconic HOPE poster featuring now-President Barack Obama? Of course you do. They're still featured on banners hanging from various light poles across the city. It was one of the most popular campaign posters in recent memory but now the Associate Press wants monetary compensation and credit for what they believe is a case of copyright infringement. Fariey has conceded that the likeness of Obama on his poster is based on an AP photo taken at the Washington Press Club in 2006 by photographer Manny Garcia. In a statement, the AP said:

"The Associated Press has determined that the photograph used in the poster is an AP photo and that its use required permission," the AP's director of media relations, Paul Colford, said in a statement. more ›

No matter what your personal feelings for our President-elect, it's hard to argue with the solid design values of Shepard Fairey's now iconic "Hope" poster based around Obama's stylized image. Well, now you don't have to BE Obama to get a poster made in your own image. more ›

Artist, musician, fashion designer, and documentarian -- Jeff Kilpatrick has been all of the above during his 20-year-plus artistic career, and in speaking to him one gets the sense that he's not going to stop experimenting with different artistic formats anytime soon. Tonight Kilpatrick has a piece in "The Open Door Theory," an exhibit at 54b Studio that features works by 37 artists. Kilpatrick and the others have painted doors that will be used in a labyrinth. This is 54b's grand opening, so don't miss it. more ›

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A few weeks ago we wondered where our Obey/Obama posters were. Behold this poster, from Shepard Fairey, he of the Obey Giant creation: more ›

From the tallest skyscraper in the City of Brotherly Love to Canadian tourism copywriting brilliance, here's what you should know from our -ist cities: This week, Phillyist took a gleeful listen to the White Stripes' exciting new release, watched in awe as their new tallest skyscraper was finally completed, found a cheaper way to get to Gothamist, invented a tasty new dessert, and brought back their Craigslist Round-Up feature with a bang. Bostonist watches... more ›

We haven’t seen this much talk about an album cover as art since LPs were phased out as the dominant form of music delivery. The artwork for Zeitgeist, the first album in seven years from a retooled Smashing Pumpkins, has been released. Graphic artist / illustrator Shepard Fairey was given the nod to create the cover for the band. Fairey has created album art before with such musicians as Flogging Molly, Less Than Jake, 311,... more ›