OBEY ARCHIVES: Obey AK-47 Diptych

The Obey AK-47 diptych was created in 1998 when I was first learning how to use Illustrator on a Mac. I scanned the gun and did the rest of the design in Illustrator. I was in my phase of emulating the style of Russian Constructivist propaganda art which was very powerful aesthetically and economical to produce because of the minimal color palette. I also was amused that because of the Cold War, Americans were conditioned to fear anything with a Soviet association. After studying Phenomenology, one of my premises was that people judge things superficially, so it is easy to provoke them with art that looks sinister even though it is benevolent. Conversely, I was concerned that people are too easily seduced by things that have a superficial appeal, but are actually peddling something sinister. I’m pro-peace, but I knew the inclusion of rows of AK-47 rifles would be ominous to viewers and make them ask questions. To save money I used one piece of film and Rubylith to make this diptych. I simply flipped the film and cut the GIANT and 7’4”520LB out so the OBEY text reversed symmetrically, but the GIANT and 7’4”520LB still read correctly. The two sides were printed one at a time. I didn’t sell many sets of these prints because my friend John Goff opened a record store called The Way Out Sound in San Diego, where I was living, and asked me to do a poster installation on the walls of the store. I used about 40 sets of the AK-47 diptych in the store and it closed after less than a year. Oh well!
-Shepard