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CCS Customs X First Thursdays Interviews: Jay Howell
November 05, 2021 - CCS launches the Customs X First Thursdays program with one of our favorite artists: Jay Howell.
OBEY's Defend Dignity Shirt
While most of OBEY’s shirts have some kind of deeper meaning or political message behind them, few prints have been as involved as the Defend Dignity Shirt. The We The People print used on the Defend Dignity shirt was also directly involved with protests during the 2017 Inauguration. On Inauguration Day, the Defend Dignity print was some of the only protest artwork used, thanks to a bit of brilliant marketing and planning on the parts of Shepard Fairey and Aaron Huey. The image was originally part of a set of three commissioned for the We The People Campaign - a campaign effort meant to raise money in support of ethnic, cultural, and religious diversity with an end goal to buy ad space in major newspapers on the day of the 2017 Inauguration. We The People was commissioned by Aaron Huey and the Amplifier Foundation.
The Amplifier Foundation, simply put, is an art machine for social change. Supporters of the We The People Campaign (WTP) were awarded for their pledges to the We The People Kickstarter with 30 x 41″ large format prints, and 24 x 36″ offset prints, postcards, and sticker packs. The donations made to the Amplifier Foundation Kickstarter through the WTP Campaign reached over $1 million and went towards purchasing ad space for the Washington Post issue published on Inauguration Day. The beauty of the campaign and idea was that the ads gave attendees of the inauguration quick access to protest art that didn't fall under the "restrictions on signs and banners." There are no laws against buying a newspaper and holding it open over your head.
The full page ads featuring the "We the People" print were printed in 6 publications including USA Today, the Washington Post, and the New York Times. The ads were a brilliant way to distribute quick access to art that could be ripped from the newspaper and used in the streets. Finding the line between Shepard Fairey the street artist and Fairey the businessman can be difficult at times because unlike other companies whose apparel lines solely focus on trends and themes, OBEY takes it one step further and include its ideological views as part of its creative process. More simply, as a designer and business owner, Fairey incorporates his art into his business. The popular "We The People" print that was published Jan. 20, inauguration day, is available as the limited edition Defend Dignity t-shirt on CCS.com here. 100% of the profits from the sales of the Defend Dignity t-shirt will go to the Amplifier Foundation.