Born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina, Shepard Fairey was son to doctor Strait Fairey and realtor  Charlotte Fairey. Shepard graduated from Idyllwild Arts Academy in 1988 and the Rhode Island School of Design in 1992  receiving a bachelors in of Fine Arts in illustration. Shepard Fairey creates street art and other images such as this one as a means to encourage individuals in our society to exercise their freedom of speech as a source of power against dominant members of society. Shepard Fairey is an activist that uses his artistic skills to spread messages to various communities in the US. He openly expresses his negative feelings towards the government through his OBEY slogan, "Manufacturing quality dissent since 1989."

Shepard Fairey openly expresses his opinion on areas such as women's rights and women in leadership roles, women's sexuality and sexism, feminism, racial inequality, government influence and power in the United States and the importance of US citizens to speak up against the dominant groups and ideologies that oppress several members of our society. As Fairey stated when discussing the motivation for his artwork, "the real message behind most of my work is 'question everything.'" Fairey is always created images that cause viewers to really stop and think about the issues that go on in society that go unchallenged. Fairey has also recently created a short film, "Obey This Film," that goes into his career, how he got started and the meaning behind his artwork.

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