Artist Sues The A.P. Over Obama Image [communist propagandist Shepard Fairey]

New York Times ^ | February 9, 2009 | RANDY KENNEDY

[ETL]

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 Club in April 2006, was taken for The A.P. by a freelance photographer, Mannie Garcia.

[ETL]

The Associated Press objects to the use of a photo of Barack Obama
by Mannie Garcia in a poster by Shepard Fairey.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/arts/design/10fair.html?_r=2&8dpc

[Kozak]

[ETL]

From Barack Obama's official website:

“I wanted to make an art piece of Barack Obama because I thought an iconic portrait of him could symbolize and amplify the importance of his mission. I believe Obama will guide this country to a future where everyone can thrive and I should support him vigorously for the sake of my two young daughters. I have made art opposing the Iraq war for several years, and making art of Obama, who opposed the war from the start, is like making art for peace. I know I have an audience of young art fans and I’m delighted if I can encourage them to see the merits of Barack Obama.”

-Shepard Fairey
http://store.barackobama.com/Artists_for_Obama_s/1018.htm

See? It's all about "peace, love, togetherness" and "change".

Here are some of Fairey's other masterpieces. No joke. Most of his works are along these same lines (anti-American, pro-communist propaganda). Check the link.

Source: The Jonathan Levine Gallery:
http://jonathanlevinegallery.com/?method=Artist.ArtistDetail&ArtistID=F65EBB86-3048-28EB-92D55AA4FC996E31&GalleryID=82C33C59-3048-28EB-92DB386C8C733405

________________________________________________________

From Shepard Fairey's official website (ObeyGiant.com):

Check it out! I got a thank you note from Barack Obama. If he is elected, maybe I have a get out of jail free card. All kidding aside, I’m honored to be acknowledged by someone so important to the future of our country. Also, the Obama campaign asked me to do a poster illustration for sale on their site. It should be out next week on barackobama.com.-Shepard
http://obeygiant.com/post/check-it-out
________________________________________________________

Here is the 'thank you' letter Barack Obama sent to Shepard Fairey:
"Dear Shepard, I would like to thank you for using your talent in support of my campaign. The political messages involved in your work have encouraged Americans to believe they can help change the status quo. Your images have a profound effect on people, whether seen in a gallery or on a stop sign. I am privileged to be a part of your artwork and proud to have your support. I wish you continued success and creativity.

Sincerely, Barack Obama.'"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/16/AR2008051601017.html

Source for letter image: Fairey's own website (ObeyGiant.com):
http://obeygiant.com/post/check-it-out

If the image of the letter should 'vanish' from Fairey's website, try this link:
http://www.notcot.com/images/obama_letter-to-shepard-fairey.jpg

_________________________________________________________________

Portrait of Angela Davis by Obama artist Shepard Fairey:

Angela Davis

Source: The Jonathan Levine Gallery (link given above)

_________________________________________________________________

From David Horowitz's FrontPageMag.com/DiscoverTheNetworks.org:
PROFILE: ANGELA DAVIS

* Communist professor at the University of California’s Santa Cruz campus
* Recipient of the Lenin “Peace Prize” from the police state of East Germany in 1979
* Provided an arsenal of weapons to Black Panthers who used them to kill a Marin Country judge in a failed attempt to free Davis' imprisoned lover, Black Panther murderer George Jackson
* Icon of the campus Left and frequent guest speaker at anti-war rallies
* Leader of a movement to free all criminals who are minorities claiming that they are political prisoners of the racist United States
* “The only path of liberation for black people is that which leads toward complete and radical overthrow of the capitalist class.”

Angela Yvonne Davis is a tenured professor in the “History of Consciousness” program at the University of California - Santa Cruz. A former member of the Black Panther Party, she is currently a “University Professor,” one of only seven in the entire California University system, which entitles her to a six-figure salary and a research assistant. This income is supplemented by speaking fees ranging from $10,000 to $20,000 per appearance on college campuses, where she is an icon of radical faculty, administrators, and students. Davis has also taught at UCLA and the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/individualProfile.asp?indid=1303

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Also by Shepard Fairey, Obama's personal icon artist...

http://www.duckywaddles.com/Scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=171
________________________________________________________

http://www.duckywaddles.com/Scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=744
________________________________________________________

"Stalin Lenin", Shepard Fairey,
limited edition silkscreen, signed
and numbered. 18"X24" *SOLD OUT*
Source: http://www.duckywaddles.com/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=429

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Check it out! I got a thank you note from Barack Obama. If he is elected, maybe I have a get out of jail free card"
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

VIDEO: Obama icon artist, Shepard Fairey, discusses his numerous arrests (13!) in this May 2008 alternative media interview
(2:32 minutes):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozeTXRa7_zo&feature=related

[freedumb2003]

Why should he care, one way or the other?

Everything belongs to everybody.

Intellectual Property Rights only belong to people who believe in Property Rights.

[RobinOfKingston]

I hope Mr Fairey and the AP bankrupt each other over it.

[djsherin]

Wow the communist peace propaganda is especially scary. Yeah let’s try communism like the Chinese had it! It only killed like 50 million people!

But then it says “Obey”. I can’t imagine that’s very appealing even to those who are deluded about the “hope” communism offers.

[ThomasThomas]

How can he prove it was the same picture he took. Obama has that arrogant look all the time.

[ETL]

Ping!

[ETL]

Street artist Shepard Fairey, who designed Obama 'Hope' poster, arrested for graffiti in Boston

NY Daily News | February 7th 2009

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2009/02/07/2009-02-07_street_artist_shepard_fairey_who_designe.html

[aruanan]

How can he prove it was the same picture he took.

It's probably that 1:1 correspondence between the two images.

[editor-surveyor]

A real “freedom lover,” huh?

And he wants to use the laws of the free nation that he hates for his own defense! (no hypocrisy here folks)

[visualops]

Fairey admitted he used their photo.

[Fred]

They can always use this one instead

[Perdogg]

it’s amazing isn’t it? They liberal until it comes to*their* money.

[ashtanga]

Artists are crackpots, for the most part. Art itself is very wise, in some cases.

[Dengar01]

Does fairy know how STalin and Lenin treated homosexuals in mother russia?

They were sent to the gulags and died. But fairy must not have learned that in Art 101 or Gay Life 102.

[Dajjal]

I hope Associated Press does sue Fairey and take him to the cleaners; or that even if he wins, he needs to pay excessive legal fees.

Shepard Fairey has raised millions of dollars for Obama through his camapign artworks. Expect Obama to be paying this guy back in some major way -- either with an appointment or with government art contracts.

This thread is a good place to learn who Shepard Fairey is:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2121506/posts
Obama’s Venomous Artist-Fundraiser

Fairey has a company ("Obey") that produces his own artwork, such as these.
See Fairey's website: http://www.thegiant.org/wiki/index.php?title=Category:Prints

Obama has written Fairey that he admires "the political messages involved in your work." (See Post #3 above.)

The political messages in Fairey's art are:
1) Communist dictators are god-like supermen
2) The United States is a police state at home and an imperialist oppressor abroad
3) Capitalism is an evil system based on greed and exploitation
4) Ordinary Amerikkkan workers are guilty of blithely supporting an unjust system
5) The only good Americans are those who fight The System
6) The communist Peoples' Armies will soon triumph over Amerikkkan imperialism and bring peace to the world out of the barrel of a gun.

[Walkingfeather]

HEHEHEEHE
Folks delight in this guy....

We will be mocking him sooner rather than later....

[Julia H.]

What was that, Mr. Fairey? You said you, a communist, expect CREDIT and REWARDS for your work? Say it again, a little louder this time.

[editor-surveyor]

They’re all capitalists in their heart, but wish to keep it to themselves, like petty little monarchs.