Shepard Fairey and RISK recently teamed up to complete a pair of large-scale murals on downtown Los Angeles' Skid Row, the dwelling place of thousands of homeless citizens. For their third collaboration together, Shepard Fairey and RISK decided to build on the approach they took in creating their Peace & Justice mural for Art Basel Miami. This time, RISK and his crew created the backgrounds, using warm hues of red and orange on one wall and cool shades of blue and green on the other. He also did the graffiti lettering for both the RISK and OBEY murals.
Just this week, Shepard Fairey added his finishing touches, incorporating cream-colored stenciling to RISK's works. RISK's green mural, which bears a scale just below the center of the piece, pays tribute to Led Zeppelin by referencing the band's song "Good Times, Bad Times." It also comments on "the unstable nature of good fortunate known too well by the residents of Skid Row." Shepard Fairey's mural, on the other hand, borrows lyrics from The Clash: "A lot of people won't get no supper tonight, a lot of people won't get no justice tonight." Emblazoned over his fiery-colored mural are the words, "No justice."
While the two murals are stunning, they were also created to support Skid Row Housing Trust. The non-profit and L.A. Freewalls' Daniel Lahoda recently started project, with hopes of transforming and beautifying the neighborhood with art.
“Skid Row is a place that needs something to brighten things up a bit,” Fairey told L.A. Times. “I’m always, in my work and my practice, trying to deal with issues of social justice and human rights.”
[via ObeyGiant]
