Tag: shepard fairey

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Shepard Fairey on AP Case: “I submitted false images”

Here’s an interesting letter from Shepard Fairey that showed up on his website yesterday:

In an effort to keep everyone up to date on my legal battle to uphold the principle of fair use in copyright laws, I wanted to notify you of a recent development in my case against The Associated Press (AP).

On October 9, 2009, my lawyers sent a letter to the AP and to the photographer Mannie Garcia, through their lawyers, notifying them that I intend to amend my court pleadings. Throughout the case, there has been a question as to which Mannie Garcia photo I used as a reference to design the HOPE image. The AP claimed it was one photo, and I claimed it was another.

The new filings state for the record that the AP is correct about which photo I used as a reference and that I was mistaken. While I initially believed that the photo I referenced was a different one, I discovered early on in the case that I was wrong.

In an attempt to conceal my mistake I submitted false images and deleted other images. I sincerely apologize for my lapse in judgment and I take full responsibility for my actions which were mine alone. I am taking every step to correct the information and I regret I did not come forward sooner.

I am very sorry to have hurt and disappointed colleagues, friends, and family who have supported me in this difficult case and trying time in my life.

I am also sorry because my actions may distract from what should be the real focus of my case – the right to fair use so that all artists can create freely. Regardless of which of the two images was used, the fair use issue should be the same.

– Shepard

Thanks Shepard. You had a court case that could have helped to show the problems in the completely screwed up American copyright system, and now it’s going to be about how you doctored evidence.

Via Papermag

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Cityscape exhibition in London

cityspace

This seems like a cool line up for a group show. Especially looking forward to Skullphone, Neck Face and Taki 183 since I have never seen their work in the UK and I’m a big fan of Neck Face in particular.

Here’s the press release:

Lava Collective presents: Cityscape

Previews November 5th, 6pm – 9:30pm. Then open daily, 11am – 7pm.

The LAVA Collective has put together a group show of predominantly North American origin, focusing on street art and urban culture. Big names like Shepard Fairey, Swoon, Dalek and Skullphone vie for attention with an exciting selection of emerging artists.

The stars of the show are Brooklyn duo Peru Ana Ana Peru, who have been invited over especially to install a site-specific montage of their work. This couple have made a name for themselves in NYC with their vibrant and distinctive street pieces but they also produce video, sculpture, and fine art. They have got a big solo show coming up at the Brooklynite Gallery NYC before heading over here to oversee their first appearance in a London show.

Cityscape will also showcase the photography of Ricky Powell. The man they call the ‘Fourth Beastie Boy’ was on hand to witness the birth of hip hop culture in NYC. For this show he has submitted a selection of his classic portraits, including Run DMC, KRS One, Easy E, Eric B and Rakim. These extraordinary photos depict iconic musicians in intimate surroundings; Easy E is tuning a radio, Jam master Jay is all smiles at the airport. This is a rare opportunity to see Powell’s work in London.

For the full artist line up, go to www.lavacollective.com

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Shepard Fairey retrospective hits Warhol Museum

If you missed the Shepard Fairey retrospective Supply and Demand while it was in Boston recently, you can still catch it at the Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh starting October 18th (17th if you want to pay $35 to get into the opening party).

Almost makes me wish I wasn’t on a gap year right now because I almost decided to go to university in Pittsburgh.

And if you have already seen the show in Boston, you can still check out all the pieces Fairey has been placing in the city streets. One way to do that is wander around central Pittsburgh until you see something. A quicker way to to use this Google Map with all the locations already marked for you (some with pictures).

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New Shepard Fairey print to support Peel

One of my favorite Shepard Fairey prints of the year, and it’s for charity. Awesome. Well, except for the fact Peel Magazine is in trouble, which is the opposite of awesome.

From Shepard Fairey:

Dave and Holly Combs are wonderful people as well as the founders of PEEL Zine. They took the risk of following their artistic passion and have paid the price of losing their home. I created this print with and for them to raise money to help with their huge debt. PEEL has helped to support and grow the street art community and I believe they deserve to have the favor returned. Profits from this print go to help the Combs family.  Please help out.

PEEL

The print goes on sale on October 6th for just $45. It is from an edition of 450.

More info on the print at Obey Giant

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Great print deals

I’ve found two deals on screen prints that have popped up recently.

Over at FUSShop.co.uk, they are giving away a free print by A.CE with orders over £50. My suggestion would be to get the Shepard Fairey issue of Arkitip Magazine for £59.99 because you get a print by Fairey and one by A.CE for not much at all when you think of how much a print might usually cost. More info here.

ace_london_50s_faces_print_fusshop

ace_london_gunpoint_print_fusshop

Or just just £60 you can take your pick of prints from artists like Sweet Toof, Kid Acne and Dscreet from the Seven Styles for Seven Brothers show at The Archipelago Works.

Kid Acne
Kid Acne
Sweet Toof
Sweet Toof

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New prints from Shepard and Deuce Seven

Two print releases which I’m very excited to write about today.

First up is Shepard Fairey. Evolve Devolve is an open edition poster signed by Shepard and for sale at just $35 plus shipping. After a surprising few prints that were not up to Shepard’s usually high standards (frankly, a few of them were just rubbish), the master of poster art is back with this beautiful offset piece about the environment. And making it an open edition poster is a great touch. Buy it at the OBEY Store.

Shepard Evolve

And then there is Deuce Seven. One of those artists that New Yorkers rave about but most people have probably never heard of. Falling Into The Black Hole Sun is a 25 color print, edition of 72, and only $100 each. It is classic Deuce imagery and each print even includes some hand working by Deuce Seven. You can pick this print up at Burlesque Design.

d7

Via Feed Your Wall and Artbleat

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Shepard Fairey cleans up

Last Monday, The Eastsider LA posted about how Shepard Fairey has buffed some tags off the outside of his studio and put an anti-graffiti coating on it. Here’s a bit of what they said:

After pleading guilty to vandalism charges in Boston over his guerrilla art tactics, artist Shepard Fairey had to deal with acts of vandalism closer to home. A few days ago workers sandblasted the brick exterior of his Echo Park studio, gallery and ad agency – called Studio Number One – and applied a shiny layer of anti-graffiti coating to the walls.

And Fairey responded to their emails by explaining his reasoning:

“When graff seeped into the raw brick it was very difficult to clean,” said Fairey, creator of the Obama “Hope” poster, in an email forwarded by one of his employees. “The building is historic and I love and want to protect the brick. The city was never any help with removal. Graffiti is par for the course.”

“Obviously I have experience with graff,” said Fairey, “and there is not much point hitting a spot that will be cleaned immediately.”

Interesting story, makes you think, but that’s not the end of it. Fairey then responded to that post with a longer email which you can read in full on The Eastsider LA.

Besides attempting to blast the blog for not being objective (Surely not even the “best” blogs are objective. That’s what makes them so interesting and it comes with the territory), Fairey ends up making a number of good points. As he says:

I’m not mad at the graff artists who have hit our building, I just like the brick unadorned. I’ve always been a champion of street art and graffiti in the same way I’m a champion of free speech. I think it is important for people to be able to speak freely, but if I’m watching a channel whose content is not my cup of tea I may choose to change the channel. It does not make me an opponent of free speech. Preferring my brick unadorned does not make me anti-graffiti. Every time I put a piece of art on the street I know it may be cleaned. That is the nature of the art form.

While I’ve occasionally been critical of Fairey on Vandalog, I think this time he is making some valid points. For one thing, I’ve never met a graffiti writer or a street artist who expects their work to be there forever, and as much of a fan of street art as I am, I’d rather commission some artist to paint the walls of my house than leave it free for anybody to bomb (PS, my address is *****) and I’m sure most people would say the same thing.

If writers still want to paint on Fairey’s building they might as well, they just need to be aware that what they paint is going to get cleared away instantly. And Fairey’s got every right to do that. At least, that’s my take, but I’d love to see some comments from other people.

Via LA Daily

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All the usual Shepard Fairey updates

Time to talk Shepard Fairey. And that means two things.

First: The Boston Arrest. Fairey was arrested back in February at the Boston ICA during the opening of his show there. He was charged with a number of counts of vandalism. Most of those were eventually dropped. The most recent news is that Fairey has pled guilty to those remaining charges and in exchange agreed to not carry graffiti supplies in Boston for two years. I guess he won’t be doing any more work with Boston’s mayor on the side of City Hall during that time.

Via Arrested Motion

Second: Mannie Garcia, the photographer who took the photo that Fairey based his Obama poster off of, has made claims in court that he was not employed by the AP at the time he took that photograph and therefore own the copyright to it. Now, he’s made those claims official in court. The Art Law Blog, which has done an amazing job following this case, has more.

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Shepard Fairey with Deitch Projects

After maybe a month of rumors, it seems official: Shepard Fairey has some sort of relationship with the famed Deitch Projects. This piece, Patagonia, is being shown by Deitch at Art Basel.

shepard deitch projects

If this leads to an exhibition or Fairey being managed by Deitch, it could mean big things for Fairey. Over the past month, a number of Fairey’s works have changed hands on the secondary, and demand for his work seems higher than ever. I think most would agree that Fairey is a smart businessman, and there isn’t much of a smarter move for increasing the value of his work and exposing it to a more “contemporary art” audience than getting together with Deitch.

Via The World’s Best Ever