“Obey Magnifying Glass” Letterpress Available Tuesday, August 3rd @ 10 AM PDT!

July 30, 2021

A print with a magnifying glass over a stylized cat, with a red and white background, and the word "OBEY" at the bottom.
A print with a magnifying glass over a stylized cat, with a white background, and the word "OBEY" at the bottom.

I’ve been a big fan of Roy Lichtenstein’s Pop Art since late high school, and I especially like some of his pieces that conceptually, and often humorously, examine mechanical reproduction. A signature element of Lichtenstein’s art is conspicuous halftone dots. Halftone dots are a very commonly used way of creating a sense of grey tones when printing only with black ink by varying the density of the dots. Warhol used halftones in his screen prints, but in a less stylized and exaggerated way than Lichtenstein’s approach, placing them front and center as a stylistic signature of his art. When I’d been making my Andre stickers for five years back in 1994, I decided to do a series of Pop Art tributes to celebrate the five-year anniversary. One of them was an homage to Lichtenstein’s “Magnifying Glass.” I only did the original version as a limited run of 60 t-shirts which explains the “Oil silkscreen on cotton. Private collection” museum label style text below the image. I recently decided that a new iteration with a different composition and using the icon face would be nice as a letterpress. Check out the last images in the carousel to see some of the history of the image.
-Shepard

  • Close-up of the bottom left corner of a print, showing a raised "OBEY" logo and the number "1/350" handwritten.
  • Close-up of the bottom right corner of a print, showing a handwritten signature and the number "21" below it, with the word…
  • Close-up of a print, showing a magnifying glass over a stylized cat, with a dotted pattern and a red background on the right.
  • Close-up of the bottom left corner of a print, showing a raised "OBEY" logo and the number "1/350" handwritten.
  • Close-up of the bottom right corner of a print, showing a handwritten signature and the number "21" below it, with the word…
  • Close-up of a print, showing a magnifying glass over a stylized cat, with a dotted pattern.
Close-up of a print, showing a magnifying glass with a dotted pattern inside, on a dotted background.
A print with a magnifying glass over a stylized face, with a dotted background, and the word "GIANT" at the bottom, with…

Print Details:
Obey Magnifying Glass (Two Colorways: Red and Cream). A limited number of matching numbered sets will be available for $140. Red and Cream sold separately for $70. 10 x 13 inches. Letterpress on cream cotton paper with hand-deckled edges. Signed by Shepard Fairey. Numbered edition of 350. Obey publishing chop in lower left corner. Available on Tuesday, August 3rd @ 10 AM PDT at https://store.obeygiant.com. Max order: 1 per customer/household. International customers are responsible for import fees due upon delivery.⁣ ALL SALES FINAL.