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Posted by Jim Hoft on Tuesday, August 16, 2011, 5:44 AM HOPE Obama HOPE artist Shepard Fairey was beaten bloody in Copenhagen by anarchists who told him to, “Go back to America.” The Guardian reported: When graffiti artist Shepard Fairey turned his talents to US politics, his reward was international acclaim and a letter of thanks from Barack Obama. When he employed a similar tactic in Denmark, however, the response proved altogether less edifying. Last weekend, Fairey – creator of the famous “Hope” poster that came to encapsulate Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign – was beaten up after the opening of...

Shepard Fairey on Occupy Wall Street: ‘I Support the Movement.’ The Artist Says He’s at Work on Images That ‘Call Out the Villains’ by Sarah Douglas11/15/11 [snip] This morning, we spoke with artist Shepard Fairey, who was recently chosen by the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation as its first “Artist as Activist,” for which Mr. Fairey created 100 signed prints of a new poster called “The Future is Unwritten,” which is available through Artnet.com, starting at $1,250, to benefit Coalition for the Homeless. We asked Mr. Fairey, who spoke with us on the phone from the James Hotel, not far from the...

President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign is asking artists to design promotional posters that convey a message: “support American jobs.” The brutal irony for artists, however, is that they will receive no payment for their work. The campaign, which has $61 million on hand, will reward only the three artists whose work is selected for use. The compensation? A copy of their artwork, signed by the president. The Graphic Artists Guild isn’t pleased with the ask. On Saturday, the guild issued an open letter to the campaign voicing outrage over what it called a “shameful” competition.

This just happened. Right after receiving the victorious news from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg that Occupy Wall Street doesn't have to move out of Zuccotti Park after all, protest organizers learned they'd been blessed with a Shepard Fairey original. An East Coast art-blog editor who's been keeping up with the artistic aspects of OWS (and oh, there are many -- in L.A. too!) told WNYC radio of Fairey's "Occupation Party" invite: Look familiar? ​"I think it's really great that it's an upward looking positive image, as well as it tries to tie together a little bit of the radicalism...

A West Coast legend does his part. ​Yup. This just happened. Right after receiving the victorious news from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg that Occupy Wall Street doesn't have to move out of Zuccotti Park after all, protest organizers learned they'd been blessed with a Shepard Fairey original. An East Coast art-blog editor who's been keeping up with the artistic aspects of OWS (and oh, there are many -- in L.A. too!) told WNYC radio of Fairey's "Occupation Party" invite: "I think it's really great that it's an upward looking positive image, as well as it tries to tie...

Serial art plagiarist Shepard Fairey, the man responsible for stealing a photo and making it an icon, was attacked last weekend in Copenhagen after he failed to understand that history has meaning. Fairey had been in the city creating a series of “street art” murals on the sides of buildings. The Guardian reports: “The LA-based artist believes the attack was sparked by a misunderstanding over his mural commemorating the demolition of the legendary “Ungdomshuset” (youth house) at Jagtvej 69… Fairey’s installation, painted on a building adjacent to the vacant site, depicted a dove in flight above the word “peace” and...

The Associated Press has sued several retailers including Urban Outfitters for the unauthorised use of the Hope image created by artist Shepard Fairey. Artist Fairey used an AP photo without permission to create the image, and was sued by the news agency for violating copyright. That case was settled. AP argues that using the image on T-shirts is wilful and blatant violation of the copyright of the photo. A spokesman said that using photos for free devalued the work of journalists. The news agency filed lawsuits against Urban Outfitters, Nordstrom and Zumiez seeking unspecified damages. A Nordstrom spokeswoman said in...

How all good Leftists (AKA HOLLYWOOD) must have voted:Follow along on this Oscar Nomination list.Best Picture:As you can see from this Big Hollywood article from Lawrence Meyers, a majority of these nominees are not worthy.It's clear that there is only one movie that you could've voted for in this category with a clear conscience: The Kids Are Alright.from John Nolte's review:Remove from this little family drama the gratuitous girl-on-girl sex, the guy-on-girl sex, and the ridiculously unnecessary and explicit images from a guy-on-guy gay porn film that no amount of hypnotism or bleach could ever erase from my mind,...

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? [taken from October 2010 articles/blog posts]NASA's Islam Outreach Minister Charles BoldenGOP lawmakers are critical of Charles Bolden for leaving last week on a trip to China just as the agency he leads begins pursuing an ambitious new agenda. It is the latest in a series of controversial moves that some speculate could result in Bolden's ouster. A law signed a week ago gives NASA four months or less to develop a dozen different plans for the future, including a detailed report on how it would replace the retiring space shuttle.It's an ambitious schedule, one that NASA...

The artist whose poster of Barack Obama became a rallying image during the hope-and-change election of 2008 says he understands why so many people have lost faith. In an exclusive interview with National Journal on Thursday, Shepard Fairey expressed his disappointment with the president -- a malaise that seems representative of many Democrats who had great expectations for Obama. Fairey explained that when he came up with the poster in 2008, he was trying to find a single image that embodied the issues he cared most about -- promoting health care, helping labor, and curtailing lobbyists. He likened the issues...

Fairey, , "Some of the works are about gridlock in Washington. Washington is too intertwined with corporate America . . . I had a lot of hope for Obama, but it's not panning out. He's not pushing hard enough."

NEW YORK — Lawyers for artist Shepard Fairey must disclose the identities of anyone who deleted or destroyed records related to a copyright dispute over the Barack Obama "HOPE" image, a judge said Monday

A judge in New York revealed today that artist Shepard Fairey is facing a criminal investigation in connection with his admitted misconduct in the ongoing legal case with the Associated Press, according to reports... A spokesman for the AP said in a statement issued this evening that the news organization has received a grand jury subpoena related to Fairey's misconduct during the case. A lawyer representing Fairey did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In October, the L.A. artist admitted that he knowingly submitted false images and deleted others during the case in an attempt to conceal the...

Any album with a title that openly mocks President Obama needs a cover that's equally subversive, and Jello Biafra's artwork for 'The Audacity of Hype' certainly delivers. The former Dead Kennedys frontman opted for a version of Shepard Fairey's famous "HOPE" picture and replace Obama's image with a demonic version of himself, fangs and horns included. Rather than just get an artist to spoof the picture like so many others have done, Biafra went to Fairey himself. "We've known each other for years, at least by phone and being fans of each other's work. He'd done another album cover for...

Shepard Fairey’s claim that he had the right to use a news photo to create his famous Barack Obama “HOPE” poster became a widely watched court case about fair use that now appears to have nearly collapsed. By Friday night, his attorneys — led by Anthony Falzone, executive director of the Fair Use Project at Stanford University — said they intend to withdraw from the case and said the artist had misled them by fabricating information and destroying other material. Fairey himself admitted that he didn’t use The Associated Press photo of Obama seated next to actor George Clooney he...

NEW YORK — Shepard Fairey's claim that he had the right to use a news photo to create his famous Barack Obama "HOPE" poster became a widely watched court case about fair use that now appears to have nearly collapsed. By Friday night, his attorneys – led by Anthony Falzone, executive director of the Fair Use Project at Stanford University – said they intend to withdraw from the case and said the artist had misled them by fabricating information and destroying other material. Fairey himself admitted that he didn't use The Associated Press photo of Obama seated next to...

"Shepard Fairey has now been forced to admit that he sued the AP under false pretenses by lying about which AP photograph he used to make the Hope and Progress posters," Kasi said. "Mr. Fairey has also now admitted to the AP that he fabricated and attempted to destroy other evidence in an effort to bolster his fair use case and cover up his previous lies and omissions." Kasi said the AP would continue to "vigorously pursue its countersuit alleging that Fairey willfully infringed the AP's copyright in the close-up photo of then-Sen. Obama."

A statement emerged tonight from AP concerning its long battle with artist Shepard Fairey over his use of an AP photo as the basic image for his famous Obama campaign poster. AP claims that Fairey's attorneys admit he tried to destroy some evidence, faking others and that his attorneys have sought to get off the case. Statement from Srinandan R. Kasi, VP and General Counsel, The Associated Press, follows. * Striking at the heart of his fair use case against the AP, Shepard Fairey has now been forced to admit that he sued the AP under false pretenses by lying...

Over the last week, Big Hollywood and Big Government have been extensively covering the August 10 conference call between the National Endowment for the Arts and a group of artists – a call on which the artists were encouraged to support President Obama’s agenda, with the tacit promise that they would be handsomely rewarded with government grants. The NEA representative on the call was then-Communications Director of the NEA Yosi Sergant. Now we have new evidence that the White House itself has been using its sway to recruit artists – not just to support President Obama’s “volunteerism” initiatives, but to...

Even though Obama's popularity has been sliding significantly, Shepard Fairey, designer of the viral blue-and-red Manifest Hope poster, thinks it's the perfect time to release a slick and comprehensive anthology of celebratory Obama-related artworks: Art for Obama, which he co-edited with Evolutionary Media Group founder Jennifer Gross, comes out October 2. In addition to getting a look at the imagery, we spoke with Fairey about Obama's approval ratings, how political art reaches beyond politics, and his thoughts on the artistic deification of our leader.Watch the Slideshow Siegel: Tell us about the idea behind Art for Obama. Fairey: People undervalue...

Via twitter from Jonah Goldberg JonahNROJust got email from NEA. Yosi Sergant resigned, effectively immediately.

PHILIP ELLIOTT (AP) - Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON White House officials told agencies across the government Tuesday they should take care to avoid even the appearance that politics played a part in the award of federal grants. The advisory came in response to an embarrassing incident last month in which a National Endowment for the Arts official asked artists on a conference call to coordinate with the Corporation for Public Service on ways to help bolster President Barack Obama's public service agenda

On August 25th 2009, Big Hollywood’s Patrick Courrielche broke the story of a conference call he attended with other “rising artist and art community luminaries”: On Thursday August 6th, I was invited by the National Endowment for the Arts to attend a conference call scheduled for Monday August 10th hosted by the NEA, the White House Office of Public Engagement, and United We Serve. The call would include “a group of artists, producers, promoters, organizers, influencers, marketers, taste-makers, leaders or just plain cool people to join together and work together to promote a more civically engaged America and celebrate how...

UPDATE: The National Endowment for the Arts Public Affairs Specialist Sally Gifford contacted The Washington Times and clarified that Mr. Sergant is still an employee at the NEA but is no longer Director of Communications.

Must go to the site for audio and see the Glenn Beck links too. http://www.washingtontimes.com/weblogs/watercooler/2009/sep/01/official-dishonesty-national-endowment-arts/

[snip] Courrielche said officials on the hour-long call -- including NEA Director of Communications Yosi Sergant and Michael Skolnik, political director for hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons -- encouraged the artists on the line to create works of art in their respective fields related to health care, energy and the environment. "What I heard was a well thought-out pitch to encourage artists to create art on these issues," Courrielche told FOXNews.com. "We were told we were consulted for a reason, and they specifically stated those issues as the issues we should focus on, to plant the seed. It doesn't take a...

I recently wrote a critique of the art community’s lack of dissent in the face of many controversial decisions made by the current administration. Entitled “The Artist Formerly Known as Dissident,” one of the key points argued in the article was the potential danger associated with the use of the art community as a tool of the state. Little did I know how quickly this concern would be elevated to an outright probability. Sometime between when I finished the critique and when it went live online, I was invited by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to take part...

Shepard Fairey is all for free speech and creating a political dialogue. But the man who created the instantly recognizable posters for Barack Obama's presidential campaign has some choice words for the anonymous artist who made the Obama Joker artwork. "I have my doubts about the person's intelligence," Fairey said on the phone from Pittsburgh. "It's not grammatically correct. It would be 'socialist' ... Obama is not Marx. He didn't create socialism." Semantics aside, "I don't agree with the political content of the poster," Fairey said. "They don't realize that Medicaid is a socialist program." The federal Medicaid program, of...

MoveOn.org is hosting an event at the Andy Warhol Museum to salute graphic artist Shepard Fairey, who created the Obama "Hope" poster. The artist was busy today working on an installation across the street from the museum.

CLERMONT - Clermont police have interviewed one suspect who is admitting to putting up the dozens of posters pasted around the city depicting President Obama as the Joker character from the Batman film The Dark Knight, city officials confirmed. Assistant City Manager Darren Gray said city officials have an individual "admitting to putting up 500" of the posters. Clermont Police Capt. Eric Jensen said the male individual has admitted to putting up some signs, but investigators suspect others were involved and their investigation is continuing. "We have talked to an individual," Jensen said. "He only admitted to some of it...We're...

If there's one thing about liberals, it's that they're predictably predictable. In their eyes, it is more than acceptable to mock Sarah Palin and her family, using descriptions that range from rude to crude. When President Bush was in office, he was the focus of daily ridicule from left-wing journalists and bloggers. However, no one better make fun of Barack Obama or the thought police will express "outrage" and brand you a racist. That's exactly what is happening now as a poster of Obama in "Joker" makeup is popping up on walls and city streets. My question to the lefties:...

Artist Shepard Fairey, whose iconic HOPE campaign poster of Barack Obama was a global sensation, is back with a new image that both questions and deifies the President. Appearing on the cover of the Aug. 20 Rolling Stone, the portrait depicts Obama with a brow knit in determination, surrounded by a halo of stars. "Will he take bold action or compromise too easily?" asks a headline enshrining the President's head. Fairey said it wasn't meant to be a halo. Rather, the picture he worked from showed Obama standing in front of the presidential seal, he said. "It's one thing to...

Artist Shepard Fairey, whose iconic HOPE campaign poster of Barack Obama was a global sensation, is back with a new image that both questions and deifies the President. Appearing on the cover of the Aug. 20 Rolling Stone, the portrait depicts Obama with a brow knit in determination, surrounded by a halo of stars. "Will he take bold action or compromise too easily?" asks a headline enshrining the President's head. Fairey said it wasn't meant to be a halo. Rather, the picture he worked from showed Obama standing in front of the presidential seal, he said. "It's one thing to...

Have you seen this poster? Apparently, it's beginning to appear in odd places in Los Angeles, but nobody seems to know who's responsible for it. Radio host Tammy Bruce posted some pictures of this odd creation at her blog Saturday morning (h/t Pamela Geller) leading me to investigate further. At this point, all I could find on the subject was an April 25 article from Bedlam Magazine: A poster of Barack Obama in Heath Ledger-style Joker make-up with the legend 'Socialism' beneath it has been popping up recently on surfaces around L.A. It does not appear to be in the...

The artist who created the “Hope” poster of President Barack Obama was sentenced to two years’ probation Friday after pleading guilty to three vandalism charges. Prosecutors dropped 11 other charges.

Start Mobile has managed to get 18 separate iPhone applications approved by Apple. So you’ll imagine their surprise when one of them was recently rejected. But you may be even more surprised to find out why.Apparently, Apple doesn’t like the way one piece of art in the app depicts President Obama. Is it out of line or tasteless? Well, you can determine for yourself, because you’ve undoubtedly seen the art in question before: It’s Shepard Fairey’s famous “HOPE” image of Obama that was everywhere during his Presidential campaign.So why on Earth would this be rejected? Well, here’s the wording in...

Who says Pres. Obama isn't backing the Iranian uprising strongly enough? Why, supporters of the struggle have chosen to immortalize Neda, the young student reportedly slain by the current regime, by creating a poster of her in the style of the iconic Obama poster made famous during his presidential campaign. Might that have been CBS's subliminal message this morning? Of all the possible posters of the fallen girl who has become the symbol of the Iranian uprising, the Early Show chose the one displayed here in the unmistakeable style Shepard Fairey used to create his Obama poster.

BOSTON — Prosecutors in Boston have dropped 14 vandalism charges against the street artist who created the "Hope" poster of President Barack Obama.

BOSTON -- A pre-trial hearing is scheduled in Boston for the street artist who created the "Hope" poster of President Barack Obama. But Shepard Fairey is not required to appear for Thursday's hearing in Brighton District Court. The 39-year-old Los Angeles resident has pleaded not guilty to a number counts of vandalism and faces up to three years in jail. Boston police accuse Fairey of vandalizing city property, including a Massachusetts Turnpike Authority building earlier this year.

What do you do if you're a street artist turned marketing phenom who uses other people's images when someone uses one of your designs? If you're Shepard Fairey, apparently, you call your lawyers. Fairey, of Obama HOPE poster fame, is defending himself against charges he infringed on an Associated Press copyrighted photo in making the poster. He's also been criticized by artists for using others' work without attribution. His lawyers claim in the AP case that he is protected by fair use provisions of the copyright law. It turns out, however, that the activist art appropriator is a wee bit...

In a pre-emptive strike, the street artist Shepard Fairey filed a lawsuit on Monday against The Associated Press, asking a federal judge to declare that he is protected from copyright infringement claims in his use of a news photograph as the basis for a now ubiquitous campaign poster image of President Obama. The suit was filed in federal court in Manhattan after The Associated Press said it had determined that it owned the image, which Mr. Fairey used for posters and stickers distributed grass-roots style last year during the election campaign. The photo, showing Mr. Obama at the National Press...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The artist who created the iconic pop-art portrait which became the unofficial logo for Barack Obama's insurgent White House bid, has been arrested in Boston for defacing property with graffiti, US media reported. Artist Shepard Fairey was arrested in Boston late Friday on warrants for defacing property with graffiti, the Boston Herald and other media outlets reported. He is the creator of a popular red, white and blue poster, emblazoned with the legend "hope" "progress" or "change," showing the then-presidential candidate gazing off into the distance. Fairey, 38, was taken into custody on his way to Boston's...

A street artist famous for his red, white and blue "Hope" posters of President Obama has been arrested on warrants accusing him of tagging property with graffiti, police said Saturday. Shepard Fairey was arrested Friday night on his way to the Institute of Contemporary Art for a kickoff event for his first solo exhibition, called "Supply and Demand." Two warrants were issued for Fairey on Jan. 24 after police determined he'd tagged property in two locations with graffiti based on the Andre the Giant street art campaign from his early career, Officer James Kenneally said. One of the locations was...

BOSTON - A street artist famous for his red, white and blue "Hope" posters of President Barack Obama has been arrested on warrants accusing him of tagging property with graffiti, police said Saturday. Shepard Fairey was arrested Friday night on his way to the Institute of Contemporary Art for a kickoff event for his first solo exhibition, called "Supply and Demand." Two warrants were issued for Fairey on Jan. 24 after police determined he'd tagged property in two locations with graffiti based on the Andre the Giant street art campaign from his early career, Officer James Kenneally said. One of...

BOSTON (Reuters) - An artist who created an iconic red, white and blue portrait of President Barack Obama that appeared on thousands of posters and T-shirts was arrested in Boston on graffiti charges, police said on Saturday. Shepard Fairey, a Los Angeles artist whose "Hope" image of Obama hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, was arrested on Friday night while traveling to the Institute of Contemporary Art to kickoff his first solo exhibition. Police accuse Fairey of damaging property with graffiti in several locations and issued warrants for his arrest on January 24, Boston police spokesman James Kenneally...

Obama 'Hope' poster artist arrested in Boston By Milton J. Valencia and Mark Shanahan Globe Staff / February 7, 2009 Shepard Fairey, the controversial street artist riding a roller coaster of publicity with his red, white, and blue posters of President Barack Obama, was arrested last night on his way to DJ an event kicking off his exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art. Fairey, a 38-year-old known for his countercultural style, was arrested on two outstanding warrants and was being held at a police station, according to a police official with knowledge of the arrest who requested anonymity.

NEW YORK - ON buttons, posters and websites, the image was everywhere during last year's presidential campaign: A pensive Barack Obama looking upward, as if to the future, splashed in a Warholesque red, white and blue and underlined with the caption HOPE. Designed by Shepard Fairey, a Los-Angeles based street artist, the image has led to sales of hundreds of thousands of posters and stickers, has become so much in demand that copies signed by Fairey have been purchased for thousands of dollars on eBay. The image, Mr Fairey has acknowledged, is based on an Associated Press photograph, taken in...

NEW YORK – On buttons, posters and Web sites, the image was everywhere during last year's presidential campaign: A pensive Barack Obama looking upward, as if to the future, splashed in a Warholesque red, white and blue and underlined with the caption HOPE.

AP suing Shepard Fairey over altered image. See article.

So, where exactly did the communist graphics inspired artist Shepard Fairey get the image of Obama for his ubiquitous “Hope” poster featuring a confident, young Obama intently staring off into the distance for glorious leader’s future, anyway? Turns out the celebrated artist stole it from an Associated Press freelance photographer and never bothered to acknowledge where he got it in the first place. I guess the word “ethics” didn’t fit as easily on that iconic Fairey poster, eh? At least one Old Media photographer was curious about the source photo that the poster was based on. Philadelphia Inquirer photog Tom...