The LA Independent runs a long Q&A with muralist and street artist Shepard Fairey, who has plenty to say about WeHo and LA and the public art that fills the public spaces of the cities. Fairey is currently working on two murals for the new West Hollywood library, scheduled to open in October. On the parking garage, he's created "Peace Elephant," his largest-ever mural, and inside he's working on a floor-to-ceiling celebration of WeHo's culture and built environment--the mural outside the City Council chambers depicts city landmarks the Roxy, Pacific Design Center, and Sunset Tower Hotel.
Fairey also makes it clear in the interview that he is a fan of LA, commenting on the city's breadth of opportunities for public art and making an observation that will make the Bureau of Street Services happy: "I look at L.A. as a place that's got lots of different opportunities -- there's good galleries, there's good museums here. It's a fairly clean city, which makes it maybe not as appealing for street art as a place like New York or Paris or Berlin."
As for public art in general, Fairey is diplomatic about the differences between graffiti and public art. Having notoriously covered his own studio in anti-graffiti coating, he says: "I just look at every different section of this city and every bit of terrain with the understanding that there's certain places that are appropriate for art and other places that I think aren't, and utilizing whatever opportunities make sense for that area."
The LA Independent has a full photo gallery showing Fairey at work in the interior of the new library.
· Q&A: Graphic artist Shepard Fairey [LA Independent]
· David Wiseman, Shepard Fairey Selected to Pretty Up WeHo Library [Curbed LA]
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