Top 10 Guerrilla Artists
Icon Maker
The 2008 presidential race boasted no shortage of star power, but the enduring image of the campaign belongs to an art-school grad from South Carolina, Shepard Fairey. Previously known in urban art circles for his iconic "Andre the Giant Has a Posse" stickers, Fairey's Barack Obama "Hope" poster spawned a Warholian frenzy, launching him to international fame. His work has since been featured at the Smithsonian and New York City's Museum of Modern Art, among other venues; he has a book coming out in October. Still, Fairey has managed to keep some street cred: in February, the Associated Press threatened to sue, claiming he had unlawfully based his Obama portrait on an AP photograph; before they could follow through, he slapped back with a civil suit of his own, saying his transformation of the photo into a new work of art is covered by the fair-use doctrine. That same month, he was arrested in Boston for vandalism while en route to a gallery opening of his work.