Posters
Street artists—eager to spread their ideas to the masses—have long been drawn to posters, which can be cheap to produce and easy to post in public spaces. Believing that “art is for everybody,” Keith Haring designed over 80 posters during his career, from social activist campaigns spreading awareness about the AIDS epidemic to cultural announcements for Jazz festivals and dance competitions. Shepard Fairey found fame as an art student when his poster Obey Giant, featuring the seven-foot-tall boxer André the Giant, unexpectedly went viral. The ever-elusive Banksy has even released a series of posters mocking the art world establishment, creating his own versions of Andy Warhol’s famous Campbell’s soup cans. While many of these posters were designed for the streets, they are now collected and showcased in museums, homes, and other spaces as relics of art history, advertising, and activism.