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Shepard FaireyJohnny Ramone Smokin’ Strings (Punk Rock Icon, Legacy, ~44% OFF LIST PRICE)2024
2024
About the Item
Shepard Fairey
Johnny Ramone Smokin’ Strings
Screen print on thick cream Speckletone paper
Year: 2024
Size: 24 x 18 inches (60.96 x 45.72 cm)
Edition: 600
Signed by Shepard Fairey, dated and numbered by hand
COA provided
*Edition number may vary from the image shown.
At the invitation of Linda Ramone, Shepard Fairey was honored to design the promotional artwork for a recent Johnny Ramone tribute event, where Fairey also performed as a DJ. The evening included a screening of Pulp Fiction, a film that has long been a personal favorite. Impressed by the original design, Linda Ramone encouraged Fairey to create a new illustration of Johnny Ramone based on a photograph by legendary Ramones manager and cultural figure Danny Fields.
The resulting image incorporates stylized smoke rising from Johnny Ramone’s guitar strings—a visual metaphor for his relentless, shredding playing style—while also referencing the cigarette smoke from Uma Thurman’s iconic image in the Pulp Fiction poster. The layered symbolism reflects Fairey’s interest in cross-pollinating music, film, and cultural mythology into a single visual statement.
Fairey’s connection to the Ramones dates back to 1984, when the band quickly became one of his all-time favorites. Seeing them perform live in 1988 and 1989 cemented their status as an unmatched force of raw, uncompromising energy. One performance in particular—at The Living Room in Providence, Rhode Island, in the fall of 1988—stands out as among the most intense shows Fairey has ever experienced. The venue was packed far beyond capacity, and when the Ramones took the stage following an opening set by Jane’s Addiction, the crowd erupted.
Pressed against the stage, Fairey recalls being lifted off the ground by the surge of bodies, unsure at moments whether he could breathe, yet unwilling to surrender his place at the front. The band played relentlessly, without pauses between songs, delivering nearly two hours of precision and velocity. Johnny Ramone remained locked into the crowd, leather jacket on despite the stifling heat, while Joey Ramone stood planted at the microphone, hair in his eyes, unwavering and commanding. The experience was visceral, overwhelming, and unforgettable—an embodiment of punk rock at its most pure and dangerous.
This artwork stands as Fairey’s tribute to Johnny Ramone’s ferocity, discipline, and enduring influence, capturing both the mythology of the musician and the lived intensity of the Ramones’ live performances.
Johnny Ramone, Ramones tribute, punk rock icon, Danny Fields photograph, punk performance energy, live music intensity, guitar shredding imagery, smoke symbolism, punk rock history, music and film crossover, cultural mythology, punk legend portrait, hardcore live shows, New York punk legacy, music-inspired illustration
Shepard Fairey, Obey Giant, contemporary street art, graphic iconography, activist art, pop culture symbolism, editioned print, contemporary urban art, collectible fine art print, music-inspired artwork
- Creator:Shepard Fairey (1970, American)
- Creation Year:2024
- Dimensions:Height: 24 in (60.96 cm)Width: 18 in (45.72 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Framing:Framing Options Available
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Kansas City, MO
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU608317505242
Shepard Fairey
Expanding on the legacies of artists such as Keith Haring and Andy Warhol, Shepard Fairey’s practice disrupts the distinction between fine and commercial art.
A major artist of the street art movement, Fairey rose to prominence in the early 1990s through the dispersion of prints, posters, stickers and murals, related to his Obey Giant campaign, which yielded an international cultural phenomenon. Fairey’s iconic poster of President Barack Obama was adopted as the official emblem associated with the presidential campaign and encapsulates a number of recurring concerns in the artist’s work, including propaganda, portraiture and political power.
Find a collection of Shepard Fairey original art on 1stDibs.
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