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Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Pharrell Covers Paper Magazine + Talks To Shepard Fairey (November 2010)

Posted a couple of the photos from the shoot earlier at 7onthehip.tumblr.com and got a great response. Now, in the sit-down with the magazine, the two artists at the top of their game talk about their artistry/brand, collaborations and pushing the culture forward. A lot to learn from these guys if you're looking to be in the arts industry. I put a little it of an exchange I really liked down below:

SF: Right, so let's talk about [the artist duo] FriendsWithYou. What they're doing here in the U.S., it's a little bit like what Nigo has been doing in Japan. A little bit of the KAWS thing, too: art and T-shirts and toys. I love that it's all upbeat, it's pop-y and well-done and friendly. You're sort of an official member of the collaboration now.
PW: Yeah, we work together. I think that those guys are super-talented and I believe that they can be the next Disney.
SF: I noticed that they designed the N.E.R.D. web page, and I know they've done some video stuff with you, but what kind of projects do you have on the horizon with them?
PW: They have a bunch of stuff coming up. I kind of stay out of the way and let them do what they want to do. Mostly we just do commercial stuff together. FriendsWithYou comes in and they are the creatives. We are doing stuff for Gwen Stefani, for her line. They did the Pop-Tart commercials.
SF: It seems like they're doing a lot of whimsical things they want to do because they're able to make money with their business. To have that freedom, that's really ideal.
PW: We can't allow the pop and commercial worlds to go to shit. We have a responsibility as artists on many different levels to change the way people see the world.
SF: Whenever somebody's saying that the world of commercial graphic design or marketing is lame, I always say, I can turn on the television and watch a lot of ads that are actually really great and don't necessarily brainwash me into buying that product. But I'd rather see great marketing and great advertising that's art within itself. And that's part of mass communication, that commercial side of it is always going to be there, you might as well raise the bar, is what I think.


You can read the full article here

*That's not the cover up top but I like it the best. Also check out the awesome Jay Leno performance from earlier tonight where the guys perform "God Bless Us All" from the new album Nothing, over at Yardies here.

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