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Since seeing the new Banksy film Exit Through the Gift Shop last weekend, I’ve been a bit more curious about the street artists that are featured in the film. Altho British street artist Banksy is the most famous artist in the film, American artist Shepard Fairey is a close second. His masterpiece, the Obama Hope poster, has made him an honest-to-goodness worldwide phenomenon … one who is planning a new art exhibit in NYC next month. To celebrate the opening of his art show, titled May Day, Fairey put up a mural in the Big Apple to generate hype for the exhibit:

WNYC caught up with Shepard Fairey while he was painting a new mural on the legendary corner of Bowery and Houston. The mural is a promotional piece for Fairey’s upcoming show at Deitch Projects, called May Day. It’s also his last show with Deitch, since the gallery will be closing when Jeffrey Deitch heads to L.A. to take over L.A.’s Museum of Contemporary Art. The mural’s going up across the street from the Landmark Sunshine Cinema, which is screening the film, “Exit through the Gift Shop,” which features Fairey and was directed by the elusive street artist Banksy. Fairey told WNYC that the mural will be up for six months. He chose the spot, he says, because it’s the same wall where Keith Haring’s original Day-Glo mural went up in 1984. Deitch re-created the Haring piece in 2008, and then commissioned the Brazilian graffiti artists, Os Gemeos, to do a new installation, a year later. Remember when “street art” was illegal? Fairey does. He says the spot’s significant for him, because, in addition to the Haring connection, he once tagged walls just blocks away from that corner.

I don’t know about you but I don’t mind so much that many of these “illegal” street artists are finding legitimate success in the art world. Sure, the cool-factor is lost a bit once a graffiti artist goes legit (and “sells out”, according to some critics) but I’m more interested in the work they end up making rather than the coolness of how illegal it may be. I doubt Shepard Fairey will ever be able totally win back his o.g. street cred but I bet he doesn’t mind being taken seriously after all of his years of D.I.Y. hard work. After the jump, check out video of Fairey talking to and working on this new mural …

Shepard Fairey, the amazing graphic artist who brought us this iconic image of then-presidential candidate Barack Obama …

… has created a new piece of Obama artwork to commemorate Inauguration Day next week, behold:

A Limited Edition, signed and numbered version of this poster can be purchased online HERE for $500, while a numbered unsigned version can be purchased online HERE for $100. OR, you can donate $20 HERE and get your hands on one of these one-of-a-kind posters (if you donate $35, you’ll get two posters):

To celebrate this historic inauguration, graphic artist Shepard Fairey has created another unforgettable poster. Make a donation of $20 or more to get your limited edition inauguration poster. Or, make any donation of $35 or more and receive two posters — one to keep and one for a friend. We’re organizing the most open and accessible inauguration in our nation’s history. Your support will be crucial to making that possible, as we’re not accepting donations from PACs, federally registered lobbyists, or corporations.

I understand that proceeds from the sale of these posters and THESE other Fairey Obama products will go towards paying for various Inauguration festivities in Washington DC next week. I know that the original Hope poster sold out very quickly and is very difficult to find as a result … this is your chance to get in on the ground floor and snag one of these posters while you still can.

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