Tag: shepard fairey

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Shepard Fairey says AP could “bankrupt” him

In an interview of Shepard Fairey by Iggy Pop for Interview Magazine, Fairey addressed his legal issues with the Associated Press. While it was good to hear exactly what Fairey’s argument is for fair use in this case and also his thoughts on copyright law in general (a topic I’m nearly as passionate about as art), the real bombshell is this quote from Fairey:

I think it’s fair use, but the Associated Press thinks it’s copyright infringement, and they’re really going after me. It would bankrupt me entirely if they won, so I’m hoping, for the sake of creative expression and political speech, that that doesn’t happen.

The best of luck to Fairey in his legal battle. The man has worked for two decades and could potentially see so much of what he has built up essentially thrown in the toilet all because American copyright laws are seriously screwed up.

For all those Shepard Fairey haters out there who are just hoping that he loses this case, think about the wider issues here. Here’s another quote from Fairey taken from the same interview:

The problem with copyright enforcement is that when the parameters aren’t incredibly well defined, it means big corporations, who have deeper pockets and better lawyers, can bully people. I don’t want to start making enemies in the corporate world, but there are plenty of cases. For example, there is a tradition of certain fairy tales being reinterpreted, and now, all of a sudden, a big corporation that has a mouse on its logo decides it’s going to copyright these fairy tales, which ends the cycle of these things being reinterpreted. What happens with these big entertainment companies is that they start to get a monopoly on the creation of culture. But I think that the more people participate in the creation of culture, the richer the culture becomes.

This case isn’t just about Fairey and OBEY. If he wins, it would be a real victory for artists and content creators in America. Though if he loses, maybe it will spur a change in the country’s copyright laws. After all, the National Portrait gallery has a HOPE painting as an official portrait of President Obama.

And just because it’s remotely relevant, here’s the song “Talkin All That Jazz” by Stetsasonic:

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The controversial and the just plain wrong

Sometimes the art world is full of good news and smart people. Not today.

  • In LA, photographer Jonas Lara was arrested back in February while taking pictures of graffiti writers working on an unauthorized piece. After police changed their minds multiple times, in the end he has been charged with aiding and abetting. His trial is scheduled for this coming Tuesday May 11th. PDN Pulse has the story so far. If he’s convicted, it certainly wouldn’t be a good sign for other photographers of street art and graffiti (or photographers of gangs, illegal immigrants or many other things for that matter).
  • Roger Waters of Pink Floyd has hired some folks to wheatpaste a quote for President Eisenhower around the country for him in order to promote his upcoming tour. One of those awkward situations. Since it’s not a blatant advert, I suppose it’s equivalent to Banksy putting up work in Utah right before his film premieres at Sundance, but that was already controversial. Where this gets bad though is that one of these posters ended up covering the wall that was photographed for the cover of Elliott Smith’s album Figure 8, which has become a bit of a memorial to Smith (even if the wall is pretty damaged now). LA Weekly has the full story.
  • The Sun, a UK “newspaper,” had an interesting front page today (it’s election day here).
  • Some guy in Australia is all upset about Banksy coming to town and he’s written an article with the headline Hey Banksy, graffiti is vandalism not art for the Sydney Morning Herald. There’s certainly an argument that can be made for all graffiti writers and street artists to be thrown in prison and whatnot and all their artwork should be removed, but the article is so poorly researched that it becomes hard to read.

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Obey

The OBEY team has been quite busy in New York City over the last few weeks. And it doesn’t look like they’ve kept to legal murals.

Photo by Jake Dobkin

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May Day!

May 1st was the opening of what may surpass Banksy’s Exit Through The Gift Shop as the street art event of the year so far: Shepard Fairey’s May Day show at Deitch Projects. Because the opening evening was open the public instead of simply a guest-list-only affair, it got a bit mad. I’ve heard that lines were 7 blocks long just to get in. And a friend tells me that the after-party was one of the best parties of the year. It’s taken a few days, but some photos of the artwork have finally come online.

The largest piece in the show (pictured above) is a 4-part series of canvases similar to the mural that Shepard has at Houston and Bowery. No doubt it will end up in a museum. The question is, which one? Perhaps more importantly, should it end up in a museum? It is really Shepard’s strongest work to date, or just his largest?

Capitalizing on the popularity of the Obama HOPE poster, Shepard has almost definitely made more than his usual number of portraits for this May Day, so that’s too bad.

Shepard’s flag is probably the most visually arresting and art historically significant newish image in May Day. Shepard no doubt owes a lot to Jasper Johns, particularly Johns’ use of newspaper and other materials collaged together as a base for his paintings, so it’s interesting to see Shepard’s take on the American flag (I should probably remind people that no, I don’t study art history or whatever, this is just my take on things, so no need to get all pissy – though I wouldn’t mind hearing if I’m totally wrong). Probably my favorite pieces in the show.

Two of my favorite classic Shepard Fairey images in the photo below: The OBEY printing press and Never Trust Your Own Eyes.

And of course, plenty of smaller stencils and rubyliths.

Is there a lot of not-so-amazing stuff in May Day? Of course. Is there some amazing artwork too? Of course. Shepard has always produced so much that it’s all a bit hit or miss, but those hits are more than worth wading through the misses. I wish I could see May Day in person. Looks like the must-see art event in New York right now. May Day runs through May 29th and then Deitch Projects closes down for good as Jeffrey Deitch takes up his new job as director of The MOCALA.

Photos by Incase, who have a flickr set with more photos from the show

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Shepard, Banksy and Shepard

As I write this, the first images are starting to appear on Twitter from Shepard Fairey’s May Day show at Deitch. That’s not what this post is about though. More on May Day tomorrow. This is more about two random bits of news that Shepard is involved with.

Animal NY is reporting that Shepard Fairey’s mural at Bowery and Houston might actually be illegal. That would definitely be unexpected, since this is the same wall that Deitch has used three times in the last few years (but this is the first time that they have built a structure onto the wall). I wouldn’t at all be surprised if this was another prank though. This mural has been taking some abuse.

And if you read the latest issue of Time Magazine, you may notice that Shepard has written one of the profiles in their annual Time100 list of 100 influential people. Which profile has Shepard written? Banksy’s. That’s right. Banksy is one of Time’s 100 most influential people this year. You can read what Shepard has to say on Time’s website.

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Anonymous pranksters react to Shepard’s mural

Shepard Fairey’ mural at Bowery and Houston in NYC has been a frequent target of attacks and modifications since before it was even finished. The latest addition comes in the form of a Target label. I think that there was a video I saw somewhere in which a member of the public actually confused the mural with the latest Target ad. Hyperallergic notes that the target image in the mural is probably actually a reference to Jasper Johns.

Photo by an anonymous activist

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My Addiction Gallery in Tucson, AZ

I’m sure I’ve said before how much I like it when people bring good street art to cities that don’t normally get to see much street art. Well My Addiction Gallery is a new gallery in Tucson, Arizona and they are going to specialize in urban art. I’ve been emailing with the owner of My Addiction Gallery for a while now, so it’s exciting to see the gallery develop from a vague idea into an actual physical space and an event. My Addiction Gallery’s first show, God Save The Streets: US vs. UK, opens on Saturday.

My Addiction Gallery’s inaugural exhibition, “God Save the Streets,” offers several examples of street and urban contemporary art from England and the United States, two countries that have played key roles in the development of this style. Prints and originals by artists of both nations pose some intriguing questions about the ways in which people from different countries communicate the importance of their individual cultures. This exhibition aims to familiarize viewers with the diverse artistic and contextual styles of British and American culture as well as how they critique one another through the use of relevant social and political content. The exploration of these topics aptly calls attention to the relationship between American and British street and urban contemporary art, both visually and culturally, and the signifiers of cultural identity found in these works are certainly not to be missed.

My Addiction Gallery
439 N Sixth Ave Suite 159
Tucson AZ 85705
520-665-9750

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All that Shepard Fairey news

Photo by Daniel Zana

Expect the next week or so to be filled with Shepard Fairey related news. He’s in New York for his upcoming May Day solo show at Deitch Projects. Here’s some of what’s happened already:

And I’d just like to note how much I love Shepard’s new flag image which appears to be one of the core images in May Day.