Dave and Holly Combs of PEEL Magazine braved the madhouse that was the ICA Boston last night for a talk with Susan Dackerman (the Carl A. Weyerhaeuser Curator of Prints for the Harvard Art Museum/Fogg) and signing with Shepard Fairey (Juxtapoz cover #82) - a man we’ve long called a friend, who has now reached levels of artistic superstardom rarely, if ever, achieved in the world of contemporary art.

Struck by the amazing journey Shepard has undergone in recent years, Dave took the time to write about his experience last night in Boston.

Read about the Combs’ experience with Shepard last night in words from Dave and iPhone photos (“We weren't really allowed to take pics so we had to sneak”) from Holly.

Shepard Fairey

In conversation with Susan Dackerman
Thursday, February 05, 2009
6:30 pm

Words by Dave Combs

Pictures by Holly Combs

I was about 12 years old the last time I stood in line to get an autograph. Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat was in town, and my dad took me to the meet-and-greet before the matches so I could see my larger-than-life TV hero in person and get a signed 8x10 glossy. For a 12-year-old kid that was a kind of magic that’s difficult to describe. It’s been more than twenty years now since I’ve had anything close to a hero, but tonight at the ICA Boston something akin to that same kind of magic happened once again for me. As I stood in line with my wife Holly and hundreds of other fans waiting to talk to Shepard and get an autograph on their special 20-year anniversary edition of his book, Supply and Demand, we recounted first seeing his sticker several years ago in NYC and much of what’s happened to us since. Shepard’s Andre the Giant has a Posse sticker was the one that turned us onto street art, and as trite as it might sound, changed the course of our life forever.

The night began with a full house, and we almost didn’t get into the auditorium as the seating was sold out beyond capacity. We explained that we were there to cover the show, and after an initial firm, “no”, Holly did her thing, and the very friendly staff at the ICA hooked us up with a standing room spot behind the sound booth (Thanks, Colette!). We graciously accepted and got in line with the diverse crowd who’d been fortunate enough to score a ticket in the usual way.

ICA Adult Programs Manager, Lizzi Ross gave a concise introduction and then Susan Dackerman, the Carl A. Weyerhaeuser Curator of Prints for the Harvard Art Museum/Fogg, took the stage. She said a few words to introduce Shepard and then they both took seats in the center of the stage around a glass coffee table, Oprah-style.

Susan led the Q and A session as slides of images from Shepard’s body of work were shown on a large projection screen behind them. The questions were delivered in such a way as to afford Shepard the opportunity to give a street art primer for those who were unfamiliar with the movement, while leaving plenty of room to talk about specifics of his work that would add insight for even long-time fans. I’ve seen Shep speak numerous times on various videos and television shows, most recently on Charlie Rose, and tonight he was characteristically relaxed and well-spoken. What I hadn’t seen before was his excellent ability to connect with a live audience in that particular setting. Numerous times during the talk, irony gave way to laughter, and the crowd remained riveted.


Conspicuously absent from the Q and A were any questions related to the legal issues with the AP over the image rights to the Obama photo used to create the HOPE print. Everyone else was talking about it, but apparently by design it was off limits for this discussion.


Tonight was kind of cerebral and maybe a little stuffy for the average street art fan, but tomorrow night is “Experiment” where Shepard and his music mentor DJ Z-Trip will both be spinning and we’ll get to loosen the collar for a fun night of music and celebration of twenty years of OBEYing the Giant.

Thanks Dave & Holly!

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