'Andy Lives: Andy Kaufman + Tony Clifton' by Shepard Fairey, 1999
Rare original tribute poster set to the comedy legend.
Released to coincide with the Jim Carrey film "Man on the Moon".
36 x 24 Inches each.
91.4 x 61 Centimeters each.
RARE early offset lithograph on (2x) satin poster paper.
Open Edition (Sold Out).
(Not offered for sale to the public).
Includes rare set of original matching stickers.
*Note: Overall good condition. Edges/corners show minor signs of age, handling.
ABOUT THE ART
In 1998, Shepard Fairey made his transition into mass commercial art when he agreed to promote the avant-garde film "Man On The Moon". Fairey utilized his screen-print process and signature color-palette to craft two images of Andy Kaufman and Tony Clifton.
The posters were mass-distributed in the same guerrilla-style street campaign that only Shepard was capable of… they were given for free to skaters, bike messengers, and eccentric fans who plastered them over the urban landscapes. Recently, the remaining posters that were not given away have been found in storage.
“The one-sheet was for the cultish side of it. Universal did the mainstream poster campaign with Jim Carrey, and we did the one-sheet for the underground crowd that knew about Andy Kaufman,” says Dave Kinsey (Fairey's partner at Blk/Mrkt).
“It was one of the first projects where Universal Studios said, ’You know what, here’s the budget, we don’t want anything to do with it. We don’t even want to see it, just get it out there.’ We did a poster design and a Web site (AndyLives.org). Its purpose was two-fold - it was the viral marketing campaign for people in the know and it drew people in who didn’t know about Andy Kaufman.”