By his own admission!
In addition to being a plagiarist and a serial hypocrite, the plagiarizing serial hypocrite also tells big fat lies when it suits him. The LA Times reports:
In a strange twist to an already complicated legal situation, artist Shepard Fairey admitted today to legal wrongdoing in his ongoing battle with the Associated Press.
Fairey said in a statement issued late Friday that he knowingly submitted false images and deleted others in the legal proceedings, in an attempt to conceal the fact that the AP had correctly identified the photo that Fairey had used as a reference for his “Hope” poster of then-Sen. Barack Obama.
“Throughout the case, there has been a question as to which Mannie Garcia photo I used as a reference to design the HOPE image,” Fairey said. “The AP claimed it was one photo, and I claimed it was another.”
New filings to the court, he said, “state for the record that the AP is correct about which photo I used…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…”
Fairey’s statement said he regretted that his actions would distract from the issue of fair use for artists. “Regardless of which of the two images was used, the fair use issue should be the same,” he said.
If that’s the case, why did he feel the need to lie and cover his tracks? Force of habit?
To his credit, he does make a full apology and takes the blame for it. Now maybe he can issue a mea culpa to everybody who’s bought one of his dumb t-shirts with obscure and not-so-obscure propaganda he’s passed off as his own work.
Update: Sounds like his sinking ship is losing a few rats.
Related posts:
- Shepard Fairey Continues to Lose Hope If you thought the Associated Press was going to let...
- Shepard Fairey Says “Nope” to Graffiti Artists Hope-hyping huckster Shepard Fairey is now painting his critics with...
- Shortchange You Can Believe In By now you’ve heard of Shepard Fairey, right? He’s the...
- Wikipedia Thinks Fair Use Is Unfair According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation: Last February, a pair...
- Unstable Heather Mills Claims Tabloid Set Her Up The ever-fraudulent Heather Mills is claiming British tabloid The Sun...
I’m an artist now too!
You can send the cash, or make the money orders out to me.
Take that Shepard Farley!
Rats my little picture didn’t work.
If one is going to plagiarize, at lease be original about it. Like this:
http://www.dccomics.com/mad/media/downloads/hopeless_poster.jpg
Oh, wait! That’s called a parody. My bad.
Well, yeah – but it was all to help Obama get elected, so it’s okay!
Well here they are. If you’re interested. And you know you are.
Damn I can not get anything to work right today. Well you’ll have to just trust me that it was cool. Would I lie to you?
(Yes, yes I would)
“Would I lie to you?”
When one reads this site day after day, the question is who WOULDN’T lie to you? Nice catch on this particular fraud, who I thought would never be shown up for what he is. His ‘message’ is as thin and disposable as the paper he prints it on. It’s all very pretty, even though it may not all be his work, and even though it doesn’t really amount to much. (Sometimes I feel pretty isolated when the mob gobbles this kind of stuff up and I’m saying, ‘Is that all there is?’)
Is there an anti-Deceiver site somewhere, where I can read about the five or ten people on Earth who AREN’T hypocrites?
I’m still reeling from the fact that he thought ANYONE would think that he used a different photo for his “inspiration” (plagerism). Hello! Your poster looks like it was made by one of those machines you see at malls or archades that make photo “drawings” (photo booths that spit out drawn portraits). The only difference between the photo and the poster is the colors used.
Why was he suing the AP to begin with? He ripped off THEIR photo!
So is absolutely everything about the Barack Obama campaign a lie?
Because it is beginning to seem so.
I certainly wish I could take my vote for him back.
Um…because he has the audacity of hope?
Good question, actually.
“So is absolutely everything about the Barack Obama campaign a lie?”
Kinda seems like it doesn’t it?
I am not an Obama fan at all but I am totally Shepard that this is a valid case of fair use. If you really look at the photo with the poster side by side, you’ll notice a number of tweaks to expression, the eyes, shadow detail and other things that basically abstract the essence of Obama out of the photo and I think make for art that is unique and only somewhat derivative of the photo.
It is a shame he lied about this though, because regardless of his wish the case would remain about fair use now the judge has much less reason to buy whatever he says. I hope they have some good expert witnesses lined up.
“So is absolutely everything about the Barack Obama campaign a lie?”
::Steps on soap box::
::Takes a drink of water::
::Clears throat::
Ahem… America?
I TOLD YOU SO!!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry… just had to do it once before my head exploded.
Now back to your regularly scheduled douches.
It seems like the Obama campaign makes a distinction between blatant lies to the public necessary to win a campaign and other types of dishonesty, inaccuracy, and john edwards-style legalese.
I love you, Scott F.
Yes, I am so professing my love to every awesome commenter. Especially Pasta. Even though we missed happy hour.
So, everything about Obama’s campaign was a lie? yes!
yes we can – ripped off from United Farm Workers
change we can believe in – ripped off (hillary was Ready for Change, Ready to Lead. Obama took it and made it Change you Can believe in)
speeches – ripped off from Deval Patrick
speeches – ripped off from MLK/JFK
speeches – lies (Selma, his great uncle, etc)
we are the ones we have been waiting for – ripped off
this poster – ripped off
race card – ripped off from Sharpton
thuggish behavior – ripped off from Alinsky
suits – ripped off from JFK/MLK
speech cadence – ripped off from Southern Baptists Preachers
Four Delegates – ripped off from Hillary in Michigan
family image – ripped off from kennedy’s
even the dog – ripped of from the kennedy’s
Yea…I’d say everything was a lie.
I’m not exactly Fairey’s biggest fan — in fact, I’ve been razzing him on my blog for some time now. (I also have some notoriety as an Obama critic.) But the people commenting here know nothing about illustration.
Fairey’s Obama poster was not made mechanically. I know Photoshop at least as well as Fairey does, and I can find no way to make a proper recapitulation of the work simply by applying a set of filters to that photograph.
He did his own drawing, even though he used a photograph for reference. Before you pretend to find the use of photographic reference shocking, you should know that virtually every realistic illustration of a public figure done over the course of the past hundred-or-so years has relied photo reference.
One of my art teachers was Nancy Ohanian, an award-winning illustrator for the Los Angeles Times Sunday Opinion section. She certainly knew how to draw a fine likeness from life; I’ve seen her do it. But she did her political drawings from photos, as her editors knew. She certainly would have liked to have someone like Henry Kissinger pose for her, but that was not possible.
Only a dolt would impugn the talent that went into her insanely detailed cross-hatched works. The basic contours are the least important aspect of such exquisite pen and ink work.
I give examples and further information in a piece written for my own blog:
http://cannonfire.blogspot.com/2009/10/art.html
Incidentally, the fellow who took the Obama photograph has testified that he never assigned the rights to AP. If that is true, then AP has lied in court filings.
He even looks like a tool.
Every hour with me is happy hour.
**jumps into primered 1970 1/2 Camaro – peels out**
Everything out of Obama’s mouth has been a lie, so I thank you for acknowledging that you are now wanting to take back your vote. too bad we cannot hold re-elections in 2010. Here is to hope I can believe in!
…I still enjoy my Bigfoot/Nessie “Change you can BELIEVE in!” shirt.
Because seriously.
Oh, and since my original comment apparently didn’t go through, Pasta, let’s go to Vegas and have a drive-thru wedding! I think they give you wedding cupcakes.
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/10/obama_hope_poster_artist_looks.html
Good article on this one.
OB’s government is already mired in lies and deceit – this big fraudulent Fairy is just another systemic symptom of the rampant corruption that has eaten up the next four years of democrat misrule.
To the Fairey defenders/apologists: this time, try READING the article Simon linked to: http://www.art-for-a-change.com/Obey/index.htm. The Obama image is one of his (relatively) less egregious plagiarisms.
“But the people commenting here know nothing about illustration.”
I once made my living as an illustrator, and Mr. Cannon is 100% right about this. In the days before the ‘net, every illustrator worth a damn, from Norman Rockwell on down the line, had an extensive ’swipe file’. (Since the ‘net, they mostly just use the ‘net.) The NY Public Library had (maybe still has) an extensive picture collection which was used primarily (like, 90%) by artists and designers to comp ads and for similar purposes.
Some (like Rockwell) needed this stuff less than others, but there has always been a great deal of ‘appropriation’ in the graphic design world (of which illustration is a subculture).
There has always been a great deal of debate within the design world re when ‘inspiration’ ends and plagiarism begins. And I have read many compelling arguments for a liberalization of copyright restrictions. Some artists (and other creators – especially some musicians) have argued for copyright laws to be done away with altogether. (Imagine if Tim Berners-Lee had copyrighted HIS innovations.)
That said, Fairey LIED. He altered evidence. So, actually, he’s not fighting for fair use. He didn’t think ‘fair use’ would carry the day in court… he doesn’t believe in it himself! That’s why he took, uh, ‘artistic license’ with the evidence.
I’ve seen the plagiarism accusations against Fairey. They’re pretty damning – Fairey does pretty much swipe things whole. But he does have tremendous marketing skills. That’s his real talent. He’s able to take old art, repackage it, and make it far more salable than it was before he got his hands on it.
But here again, Fairey is a fraud, and a thief. In some cited instances, Fairey takes images that are in the public domain and repurposes them. The Nazi (SS) skull, for instance, is very probably in that category. There’s nothing wrong with that. The problem is, Fairey has taken works whose creators are very much alive, and simply swiped them. Like his altering of evidence, this is not a grey area.
The message Fairey’s work is thin and phony. That’s because he himself is, and he can’t escape it. There’s just no way to Xerox real personal convictions and integrity.
It’s one thing to use a photo as reference for a drawing, but to copy the photo completely is something else entirely. The biggest issue for me is that Fairey not only didn’t acknowledge the use of the photo but lied about it. Not crediting your source is dishonest and immoral. I read the article Simon linked to and Eve referenced, and it is pretty damning to “Fairey’s” body of work. The guy doesn’t seem to have had an original thought in his life.
“Fairey’s Obama poster was not made mechanically. I know Photoshop at least as well as Fairey does, and I can find no way to make a proper recapitulation of the work simply by applying a set of filters to that photograph.”
Ever used Adobe Illustrator? The tracing tools let you generate a vector image similar to Fairey’s with the click of a button. It’s clear some of the image was cleaned up a bit (which Illustrator can also do automatically) but original work this is not. Also, you CAN create a HOPE clone with just filters – that’s how sites like Obamicon work – it just requires a few steps.
This WOULD be ok – the standard for ‘original’ when based on derivative work is actually quite low – but Fairey’s also rather notorious for aggressively defending his intellectual property (as they say) plus again there’s the whole lying to the court thing.
I’m feeling the love for Pearce and Mister Snitch right about now. Luuuuurrrrrrve.
I have a new Motto for the American people finally waking up to ths administration….”It’s About Time”
Beige: http://shirt.woot.com/friends.aspx?k=6733
Ya know, upon further review of this guys photo, he looks like the kind who got beat up at school a lot. What a sleezy dude, kind of like the man he made a poster of. Two peas in a pod.
Related parody: Court Declares Obama “Hope” Poster “Fraud,” “One Humongous Metaphor” http://optoons.blogspot.com/2009/10/court-declares-obama-hope-poster-fraud.html
My heart sings with joy, both at Lee Russ’s link and at the Bigfoot/Nessie t-shirt. Turns out hope isn’t a brand name after all…
To my knowledge, Mr. Snitch and I are the only illustrators who regularly post here. If you limited every discussion to only those trained in one specific field, boy would the internet be a boring place.
Yes, every artist has file folders full of photo references. Maybe the general public isn’t aware of this fact, but it’s not really a tidbit of knowledge necessary for daily life, is it? Most people think artists are born with a crayon in each hand, that we can draw up anything on demand- completely from memory, and we all wear little berets to accent our fancy moustaches. Frankly, I don’t have a problem with folks not understanding my processes. They value my skill more that way.
I don’t think anyone knowledgable with how art and sausages are made, thinks that use of photo reference is wrong. I work almost exclusively from photographs and file footage. What I don’t do is work directly from copyrighted material or pass the efforts of someone else off as my own.
Fairey’s action in this case belittles the effort of the photographer. Now we can debate if the original photo is art as in the artsy-fartsy “I wanted the shadow on his face to symbolize the struggles of the average man to find a decent cheese sandwich” sort of art. But what you can’t deny is that 90% of photo journalism is being in the right place, at the right time, with film in the camera, and extensive training in how to capture a split second image without asking the subject to freeze and say “provolone”.
Now I don’t know about you, but when I pranced down the aisle to accept my overpriced fancy pants degree, there were a bunch of photography students there that day getting the same piece of parchment. They took just as many classes as you and I did, they invested just as much time and talent into their craft.
If Fairey had purchased his own plane ticket, applied for his own press pass, driven to the speech site, sat through 3 hours of political posturing, crawled on his hands and knees up to the speaker’s table to capture that Obama shot, and then altered it later, NOBODY would criticize the Hope image.
But he didn’t. He let someone else do all the hard work. And then he lied about it.
Do I think Fairey traced the photo? No. Do I think he ran it through Illustrator and printed it up, as is? No. Did Fairey use artistic skill to modify an average photograph into a memorable icon? Yes, yes, and yes again.
But no matter how much of the background Fairey cropped or shadows he simplified, no matter how much he cleaned up the tie, ears and shoulder, or the head tilt; he still left far too much of the original photo to claim it as his own creation. The photographer deserved credit. And as copyright holder, the AP should have been contacted for permission (if indeed they were the legal owners).
As artists, we’ve all had to stand back and ask ourselves “have I changed this image enough to call it my own?” Every artist worth his gouache worries about crossing the line and using photography as a crutch. It’s part of our training, part of our ethical core to make sure that everything that goes out with our name on it, is the fruit of our fingers.
Fairey stopped doing that long ago.
I don’t know why. Maybe it was the financial success that fell on him when Obey took off. More than likely, he just got lazy. As artists, we’ve all seen cases of seriously talented people taking the easy way out.
Fairey’s one of them.
When every single item that comes out of an artist’s studio can be directly linked with the fruit of someone elses fingers, as artists we ought to call them on it.
As people, as humans, as consumers we ought to call them out on it.
You really don’t need charcoal stained fingers to understand Fairey’s hypocrisy.
Minnow, well put, as usual. I am not by any stretch an expert on illustration or on copyright law. The whole situation with Fairey reminded me strongly of Rick Bragg’s misuse of stringers for the NYT, and his halfassed defense of same as “everybody does it” SOP.
I’m seeing some negative Obama comments here. Good.
Stick around Don. You will see more. He is the biggest Deceiver of the year, next to Al Gore.
The Phantom Street Artist has said:
People will one day speak of a Future Day and Time when a coined term will come from the voice of the streets. The term will be a definitive colloquial called Fairey Use TM to mean when an artist out of disrespect betrays important historical and revolutionary cultures, languages and authors to advance his own selfish interest in greed and mammon. This is called Fairey Use TM when an artist steals from other artists, cultural references and fails to give proper credit then tampers with federal evidence then hides behind important movements like the creative commons and attempts to escape justice under interpretative legal defense.
In a sentence:
Mommy is that artist pulling a Fairey Use?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDUzLe6-YVk&fmt=18