The Origin of Andre the Giant Has a Posse

THE ORIGIN OF ANDRE THE GIANT HAS A POSSE It started as street art and a viral (guerrilla) marketing campaign based on a design by Shepard Fairey. It was actually an experiment in "phenomenology," the science of phenomena, or the study of a fact, as distinct from that of the nature of being. OBEY Originating in the skater community, the artwork was first created in Providence, RI, and has been used in a number a ways around the world, including posters, graffiti, television, video games, and, of course, stickers. ANDRE 7'4" 520LB THE GIANT HAS People began to create paper and vinyl stickers with the image of Andre the Giant and his height and PossE weight. The phrase "the posse" was an inside joke among the skater community. The image began to grow in popularity quickly as it was propagated and posted all over Providence, RI. HAPPY ACCIDENT "The Andre The Giant sticker was a just a spontaneous, happy accident. I was teaching a friend how to make stencils in the summer of 1989, and I looked for a picture to use in the newspaper, and there just happened to be an ad for wrestling with Andre The Giant and told him that he should make a stencil of it. He said, 'Nah, l"m not making a stencil of that. That's stupid!' But lthought it was funny, so I make the stencil and I made a few stickers and the group of guys I was hanging out with always called each other The Posse. So, it said, 'Andre the Giant Has A Posse,' and it was sort of appropriated from hip-hop slang-Public Enemy, NWA, and Ice-T were are using the word." -Shepard Fairey, Format Magazine (2008) DOCUMENTARY In 1995, Helen Stickler shot a documentary chronicling Fairey's influential street art campaign, as well as his advertising of his stickers in the Providence area. FAIREY WAS SUED BY TITAN SPORTS, INC. IN 1994 FOR HIS USAGE OF ANDRE THE GIANT'S PHOTO. FAIREY RESPONDED BY USING A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT PICTURE OF THE WRESTLER'S FACE, THUS CREATING THE 'OBEY' SLOGAN AND BRAND. THIS RESULTED IN A LIVE, OBEY GIANTOBEY UNFOLDING PARODY ON PROPAGANDA INSPIRED BY THE 1988 FILM, "THEY LIVE." WHO WAS ANDRE THE GIANT? NAME: ANDRE RENE ROUSSIMOFF PROFESSION: WRESTLER, ACTOR ("THE PRINCESS BRIDE") AWARDS: WWE CHAMPION, WWE TAG TEAM CHAMPION BORN: MAY 19, 1946 DIED: JANUARY 27, 1993 SIZE DUE TO: ABNORMAL GROWTH AND OVERPRODUCTION OF GROWTH HORMONE BY PITUITARY GLAND COMPLICATIONS: ABNORMAL SIZE CAUSED HEALTH PROBLEMS LATER IN LIFE PARODIES BARACK ОВАМА JULIAN THE ASSANGE 6ʻ2;" 1AGB 74" 520LB HAS The popularity of image, sticker, and OBEY product line led to various parodies and homages. HAS A PossE SHEPARD FAIREY The Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston calls Shepard Fairey "one of today's best known and most influential street artists." He is a contemporary artist and graphic designer who first rose to prominence on the skateboarding scene. He specializes in addressing relevant political issues though art. Fairey's two most prominent works are "Andre the Giant Has a Posse" and the Barack Obama "HOPE" poster. He turned Andre the Giant into global phenomena and the OBEY brand can be found worldwide. His work is featured in museums around the world. Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andre_the_Giant_Has_a_Posse www.obeygiant.com http://www.thegiant.org/wiki/index php/Obey_Giant www.andrethegiant.com http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shepard_Fairey GO DECALS.NET