I seriously can’t take anymore Shepard Fairey news. With that said, here’s some more Shepard Fairey news (albeit this time, its much less friendly to Shepard and his work).
The Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston just launched a solo show of work by poster artist (and semi-official Obama iconographer) Shepard Fairey.
But some in the design community feel the “by” in that first sentence is in question, since many of Fairey’s images are based on preexisting photos and illustrations. And this week the issue exploded: The Associate Press accused him of copyright infringement for his ubiquitous blue-and-red Obama poster–which they claim was based on an AP photo—and Fairey retained Anthony Falzone, a lawyer and executive director of Stanford’s Fair Use Project. Milton Glaser wades into the fray.
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For myself—this is subjective—I find the relationship between Fairey’s work and his sources discomforting. Nothing substantial has been added. In my own case, when I did the Dylan poster, I acknowledged using Duchamp’s profile as an influence. I think unless you’re modifying it and making it your own, you’re on very tenuous ground. It’s a dangerous example for students, if they see that appropriating people’s work is the path to success. Simply reproducing the work of others robs you of your imagination and form-making abilities. You’re not developing the muscularity you need to invent your own ideas.
