He created the iconic HOPE poster with the image of Barack Obama based on an Associated Press photograph. Shepard Fairey, 39, recently admitted publicly he knew the source of the photo, which has been at the center of a lawsuit between the artist and the AP. He enjoyed a traditional art school education and an upper middle-class upbringing, yet has been able to tap into a kind of 1960s' anti-establishment message with his graphic art. Based in Los Angeles, he is married to Amanda and the father of Vivenne, 4, and Madeline, 20 months. His exhibit is running at the Warhol until Jan. 31, 2010. This interview took place before he made his confession public on Oct. 16.

Your wife's image is in a lot of what you do. Where did you meet her and is she your muse?

I think I better say she is (laughing). She's been involved in a lot of what I do, not just my art. We are partners on so many levels. We met in San Diego and she immediately saw, in my design business and my art, that I needed some help. So Amanda stepped in with that, and she's been an important part of the business ever since. She is also a great model. Whenever I have an idea for a piece of art, I know that I can rely on her to do whatever pose I need. I get to incorporate my family; Vivienne has been in a couple of pieces as well.

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Hear more of this interview Shepard Fairey.

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Artists are typically not good businessmen, but you really started out as an entrepreneur.

As an artist coming from a background where I really did appreciate fine art but also coming from a background of skateboard culture and punk rock and streetwear clothing, I felt in order to satisfy my goals to be a populist [I had ]to figure out how to make what I was doing work as a business. In a lot of ways populism and pop culture evolve around sort of the consumer demands, the demand of capitalism. Also I did not want to have to brown nose the fine arts system, if you will. I figured if I could make this work as a business on my own terms I'll be able to do it my way.

Where did the urge to share your art so publicly originate? Why not just do it for yourself?

I think it really came from the idea that art is an undervalued form of communication. I think there's value in it being exposed to a lot of people. For me success or fame, those were not the primary goals at all. In fact, I started more or less anonymously with the "Andre the Giant" and the "OBEY Giant" projects. It was more about the images being known than me being known as a person. But then, I found with a lot of misinterpretation of the work that it was important for me to articulate what I was trying to achieve.

That is an interesting concept -- misinterpreted art. Doesn't everyone look at art and see it differently? Because you had a message, isn't it more like advertising?

Yeah, my work was designed to function parallel to advertising, utilizing a lot of the same visual techniques as advertising but also calling advertising into question by having an aspect of antagonism and absurdity. Initially at least, I really have had people say, "Oh, you've been absorbed by the evil system because you make products." It was necessary for me to find some way to finance what I was doing as a street artist. So I've never said that art, or life, or anything was not without paradox or that anything was perfect. Even if someone in the end says they don't like what I'm doing, that's great. At least they saw it and commented upon it.

You've been arrested several times for your street art. What was that first time like?

... you feel very powerless especially with the nature of the crime and what I'm doing. I don't think it's a very serious crime. Of course, that's a subjective thing. But once you are in jail and your fate is being determined by the law, you know, it's a little scary. In a lot of ways I think the control of public space and how media is used to influence and the structure of power is something I'm calling into question, and so it is probably unavoidable that I will find myself entangled in that very power structure at some point. The goal wasn't to do art on the street because it was illegal. The goal was to do art on the street to make people consider other options for public space.

When you are drawing -- do you get lost in a story in your head? Is it relaxing?

Yeah, the process of making the art is the most enjoyable part. It's very therapeutic. I'm not someone who comes up with a perfect concept in my head and then executes it perfectly. There's a trial and error process of solving the problem, which is challenging but ultimately very therapeutic and rewarding. The only way I can ever come up with something good is because I leave no stone unturned. Not because I have great technique or am a conceptual genius. I'm far from that, but I'm very dedicated to getting the results I want as long as it takes. I'm relentless.

So what are your thoughts on turning 40?

It sounds really old. I was 17 when my dad turned 40 and I thought he was so out of touch, but in a lot of ways I have the youthful optimism and the wisdom of just a little bit of age, just the perfect combo for 40, so I'm trying to look at the silver lining.

You grew up in an upper middle-class family, going to prep school and having a father who was a doctor, so do you see the irony in going from a mainstream life to counterculture and then having your work go mainstream?

Yeah, it's a very interesting journey. I think it's not strange that growing up in South Carolina that I was attracted to the counterculture because there was a rigidity to the culture in South Carolina that was very conservative. So I found an alternative to it. I just didn't know why I was unhappy. Being weird or creative just wasn't fostered by many people. My parents weren't that excited about the things I was passionate about. One of the things I decided early on was just because you feel like you only fit in, in the margins, that doesn't mean that you should isolate yourself. That is a very defeatist point of view. My attitude was I'd like to share my ideas and what I'm doing with people and hopefully open minds and broaden the perspective of everyone, and say, "There's room for diversity." What I've done as an artist in the counterculture has always been hopefully with an eye to infiltrating the broader culture.

The Barack Obama poster was a perfect example of something, I think, that was coming from a place of trying to change what was going on with the mentality of the Bush administration. It was a great example of how grass-roots activism and progressive ideas can affect and tie in with the mainstream.

You had to have been a little knocked off your feet by the reaction to it.

I was, and you know, I was very happy [with] the synchronicity of a lot of things, most of which was surrounding my feeling that Obama would take the country in the right direction. The jury is still out on that. That might have been a once in a lifetime thing for me, the Obama poster, where all those variables were going to converge harmoniously, but one thing that's really great about it is it's happened, and I think a lot of people were inspired by it. That's very valuable.

On a personal level, whether you wanted it or not, it has given you power. Now you have a far bigger voice.

It's been amazing all the different things I've been asked to be involved in since then, whether it's human rights in Burma (Myanmar) or the things going on in Darfur, Uganda, clean energy. I've worked with MoveOn.org for years actually, but they've really supported my art. Yeah, it's been fantastic because to create art for things I care about and have a great platform is all I can ask for in life, really.

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