City OK with new mural: Official says Eye Level Art just outside of strictly monitored area

A Spring Street mural by nationally known artist and Charleston native Shepard Fairey won't trigger the wrath of the city.

Fairey, who pasted a montage of images on paper to the front of the Eye Level Art building at 103 Spring St., had the blessing of the business and the building's owner but did not clear his work with the city. It turns out, he didn't need to.

Charleston City Architect and Preservation Officer Dennis Dowd said the art building is not considered historic and that it lies just outside the Old and Historic District, where all external changes are reviewed by the city's Board of Architectural Review.

"In the case of that particular mural that Shepard did, we would not have purview over that," Dowd said.

The gallery is in the Old City District, but the review board only looks at changes to buildings there if they are more than 100 years old or rated architecturally significant, he added.

The city has rejected some building murals in the past, but Dowd said the board considered several things before reaching a decision.

"Depending on where it is or whether we have any jurisdiction over it, we would look at where it is and the quality of the work and the appropriateness of it for the neighborhood," he added. "(But) we can never tell how the board is going to react to any given project and recommendation from us."

Fairey, who grew up in Charleston and began his artistic career here with stickers and stencils portraying an image of the late Andre the Giant and the word, "Obey," currently lives in Los Angeles. His best known work recently is the "Hope" image he did of President Barack Obama -- a work that also led to a copyright lawsuit from The Associated Press over Fairey's use of that particular Obama image.

Reach Robert Behre at 937-5771.