You know Obey Giant. Perhaps you do not realize you know him, but I can assure you he knows you.

From public restrooms to street light poles and even in murals around the world, Obey Giant is quietly keeping watch over us all. A.K.A Andre the Giant Has a Posse, may be the most successful street art campaign ever. Cultivated in the brain of a young Shepard Fairey when he was just a wee illustration student at the Rhode Island School of Design, Obey started as just another flippant image. First it was a few stickers, than a few hundred, next thing he knew, his image spread like a flesh eating virus. Fairey was pleased when he would hear an occasional passersby talk about Obey, but when Obey made national news, he knew he had created something larger than the giant himself. He had created the ultimate image to mind f**k the populace.

Obey is basically Fairey doing a quasi psychology experiment on the population at large. He explains the image as an experiment in Phenomenology, or rather an attempt “to enable people to see clearly something that is right before their eyes but obscured” or so his manifesto goes.

Obey is not about Andre the Giant, it is about human nature. Fairey explains that the image has no innate meaning, but rather is there to provoke thought and frustration. It is there to make you question the status quo. Fairey wants the image to be a reminder that all humans have a right to rebel and should. As Fairey explains, “don’t just sit there and let people who have some sort of political or financial agenda set things up the way they want them, because if you want to throw a wrench in their spokes, it’s really easy.” Nothing like a little anarchy to spice up your day!

While it is kind of endearing that Fairey is trying to push his agenda that we should be a culture of freethinking activists rather than herd mindless sheep, Fairy wouldn't be the entrepreneur he is if he did not exploit Obey for every penny it's worth for his own personal gain. Obey is undeniably what catapulted Fairey to stardom and has helped him reel in the big bucks. Besides making bookoo bucks as one of the world's most infamous street artists and designers, he has created a whole brand and clothing line dedicated to Obey. Now you too can jump on the bandwagon and rock an Obey hoodie like all the other cool kids. Oh wait, doesn't that kind of go against the whole point of the image? Meh, as long as I look dope I guess it doesn't matter.