Shepard Fairey's Reading List

"I read Animal Farm first, but 1984 was an even more intense examination of manipulation and psychological control that made me understand just how necessary it is to push back against restricting freedom of speech and the need to question propaganda. Big Brother has been a theme in a lot of my work, and I even named a show in London ‘Nineteen Eighty Fouria’ based on the seemingly joyful embrace of expanding surveillance in London post-9/11."

"As a 13- or 14-year-old, I was insecure and felt a lot of anxiety about how I fit in socially and academically at my strict private school. Reading The Catcher in the Rye , I related very profoundly to Holden Caulfield as an intelligent but self-sabotaging high school student. I enjoyed the humor and the social observations of Holden’s character, and I felt a kinship that made my insecurities about my own dysfunction a little less paralyzing. The book was very good therapy for me and made me..."

"Prior to reading Seize the Time , I believed the hype and thought that the Black Panthers were mostly whitey haters with a great logo and cool outfits. I took a deeper look because of Public Enemy, but what really made me understand the humanity of the Black Panthers was this book. It chronicles black life in Oakland and the need for an organization to protect blacks from racist police and to institute social programs for the black community that the local government does not provide. Seale h..."