Fairey Selling out?

Ken Johnson of the New York Times seems to think so.  So does Jordan at Public Ad Campaign. Johnson’s NYT article gives an overview of Fairey’s career and style of art, from Fairey’s days as a student, up through his current campaign for Saks Fifth Avenue. The article focuses on Fairey’s current exhibit in Boston observing that,

Despite its rousing first impact, the exhibition leaves you with a sense of dismay at the devolution of a certain avant-garde dream into a kind of visual easy listening for the college-educated masses.

Ouch. As PAC points out, even though the Saks campaign is a probono exercise to benefit charity, it still doesn’t quite sit right, saying “Oh Shep, I know this ones for charity too and I’m usually on your side, but this rubs me the wrong way”. I’m still on the fence.