Artist Shepard Fairey vents about those spoofs of his Barack Obama "Hope" poster

Politics and art. Both are sometimes about appropriation.

Artists borrow the style -- and sometimes the imagery -- of other artists. Politicians recycle themes, slogans and even attack lines ("flip-flop," anyone?) from other politicians.

So it didn't surprise Shepard Fairey, the Los Angeles street artist whose "Hope" poster of Barack Obama thrust him into the political spotlight, when he learned his work had been remade.

In fact, spoofs have proliferated. One, an anti-Obama poster spotted at the Republican National Convention, is nearly identical to Fairey's version, except "Hope" has been replaced by "Hype."

Ouch.

But the left has hit back with its own revisions. One features Sarah Palin, depicted in Fairey's signature red, white and blue, with the word "Nope." A similar version has been made of John McCain.

What does the auteur himself think of this pilfering of his work? He says it's proof of his original image's power.

"When something becomes pervasive enough, it becomes a reference point that people are going to use for commentary and parody," Fairey said. "They build their own thing off of it and use it for their own agenda."

Fairey was unimpressed with both sides' alterations. They're too negative, he says. "It all just cancels each other out."

Judge for yourself. There are three altered samples after the jump.

-- Kate Linthicum

Photo credit: Associated Press

Comments

[nmoore6676]

What is a street artist? A person who paints the lines or a homeless person who draws pictures? Anyway if he is copyrighted he can stop others using his work, if not he just has to suffer the outcome.

[Artist against Obama]

Shepard Fairey's original HOPE image of Obama is not 'original'. It is based off of a poster that another artist made of Che in the 60s. Shepard Fairey is a copyright violator and petty criminal. Look up Rene Mederos and the work that Shepard stole from him. He does not give anyone credit unless he is caught, or "busted" as he puts it.

Why on earth did Obama make him his official campaign artist? Obama actually sent Shepard a letter praising his career and his illegal activity, like putting Obama stickers on stop signs! So does that mean that Obama supports illegal activity that cost tax payers billions per year in city clean up? Why is the media not pointing this out? Obama refuses donations from Rezko but accepts $400,000 in donations from Obama merchandise from this thug?

Shepard Fairey has has made images of the White House burning in the past. How is that not negative for this country? Better question, why does Obama praise Shepard's career? Because he is a socialist. That is why.

The only copyright Shepard Fairey acknowledges is his own. Obama has said great things about the arts and how he will fund art education and programs, but at what cost? His actions by hand picking Shepard Fairey to reperesent his campaign visually proves that he does not care about the rights of artists. The fact that Obama does not answer his artist supporters about his thoughts on the oprhan works bill also shows that he does not care about the rights of artists. He cares about art, but not about the rights of those who create it!

[The Provocateur]

If Fairey had replicated the Che image he referenced for the "style" of his piece, then it would be considered a copyright violation.

However, since "style" is not protected under any copyright law, any artist is free to re-use and recycle as he or she sees fit.

I looked up Rene Mederos.
And, honestly, I don't see any rip-offs.
Do you know how many artist use the stencil "style"?
Do you know how many artist use the propaganda "style"?
Honestly, the stuff looks generic...like most pop-art in my opinion...but, that's besides the point.
Anyone who has enough patience to use and X-acto Knife and scissors could recreate any of those compositions...

... in that style.

Now, a couple of questions

When did Barack Obama make Fairey the official artist for his campaign? Can I get to link to this breaking news??

If Fairey is such a criminal that has destroyed billions of dollars worth of property, why is he still AT LARGE?

On the Orphan Works bill...NEWSFLASH...IT DIDN'T PASS! And frankly, in the midst of what's going on in America's economy...is Barack Obama's feelings about Orphan Works really going to be the deciding factor on whether or not you vote for him?

NO.

You would have been better off saying what's REALLY on your mind.

[Johnny Thumbs]

Prococateur does not know what he/she is talking about. First, the first Oprhan Works bill in 2006 did not pass, but the second one is well on its way. It could end up being passed in mid 2009 if we are not careful. Look it up. Second, if you viewed the Mederos work and Fairey's Cuban Rider print and shirt you would see that he made little change to it. Even Fairey admits that. He has also said that he was wrong for using it because he knew it was copyrighted but felt it was ok because there was no way for him to reach the artist. He figured since the artist was in Cuba it would be acceptable. If he did no wrong he would not have paid the family off and you would still be able to buy Cuban Rider shirts.

The two topics below point all of this out.

http://www.myartspace.com/blog/2008/09/obamas-obedient-artist-is-shepard.html

http://www.myartspace.com/blog/2008/11/intentions-of-shepard-fairey-should-be.html

It is hard to say if he is the official artist or not because major news sources have said both. It has caused a lot of confusion. Some say that he is the official unofficial artist for Obama's campaign and Shepard has said that a letter from Obama praising his efforts made him feel official for the work he has done.

There is a New York Times article that points out that members of the Obama campaign had contracted street artists including Fairey in order to spread the word on the streets. But when pushed on the issue the campaign said that those people did that on their own time and that it was not an official move by the campaign. One artist was paid to 'bomb' Latino communities with images promoting Obama. I'll see if I can locate that link for you.

Regardless people should be asking just how much of a supporter of the arts Obama really is. The art community loves Obama but you have to ask why he has accepted help officially or unofficially from a known copyright infringer. Shepard makes awesome works of art but the legal issues should be considered. Obama would show more support for the art community by advocating for copyright protection.