Shepard Fairey VR – DAMAGED
It’s been nearly 10 years since Shepard Fairey’s last solo exhibition in his hometown of Los Angeles and the iconic HOPE imagery he created for then Presidential candidate Barack Obama. Now for the very first time Shepard Fairey’s work has been transformed into a virtual reality experience. experience his most ambitious show to date, aptly titled DAMAGED.
In this unprecedented political climate, Fairey’s message has changed from hope to purpose: “DAMAGED is an honest diagnosis, but diagnosis is the first step to recognising and solving problems. I definitely think that art can be part of the solution because it can inspire people to look at an issue they might otherwise ignore or reject.”
DAMAGED also takes aim at another hindrance to reformative communication: social media. For what should be the most meaningful platform for important discussion ever created, discourse has fallen secondary to self-indulgence and celebrity: “Even prior to the election, I’ve been troubled by the social media mentality of ‘construct your own reality’ in superficial terms, at least. The internet and social media are valuable for democratization, but as Marshall McLuhan warned with his—”the medium is the message”—the rapid pace and temporary nature of social media can lead to throwaway approaches from the consumer and the creator…”
* Listen to over 100 minutes of exclusive narration by Shepard Fairey.
* Interact with hundreds of artworks, including world premier exclusives.
* A full three dimensional photo realistic representation of his Damaged show.
Join Shepard Fairey in this state of the art virtual reality experience, where he will share his thoughts and methods behind his artwork.
Game Discussion
Steam User 1
Previous reviews nail it - giving people with a headset/phone+viewer access to art across the globe is a huge win, and, lets face it - we're not all jet-setters able to pop around on a whim.
Having been able to see the show in person, I will say the VR experience is a huge success. No traffic, no lines, just art all up in your grille. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in art; especially a contemporary art presentation like this.
Steam User 0
One of the applications of VR that I've enjoyed the most is to see the beginning of democratizing access to museums, historical art and art shows. Shepard Fairey, the artist behind the Obama HOPE poster, has really embraced this in his Damaged.
With his beginning as a street artist, and while at times being accused of doing little more than artistic theft, this collection shows his true inspiring goal. He's drawing a line from graffiti, through zines, collage and punk, into the current generation. I think he demonstrates that much of pop art wasn't so much about being 'popular' as being 'populist'.
In the show a majority of the pictures include Fairey's commentary where he explains his vision and his intent to inspire everyone to create and express themselves. If you can get any access to VR I urge you to seek Damaged out. If nothing else, it's a bit of an antidote to our current divisive and cynical climate.
I can't recommend it enough.
Steam User 0
This is a great way to experience an art installation that most people might never get to attend. Plus you don't even have to shoulder past any art snobs!