Look up “Shepard Fairey” + “plagiarism” and you’ll discover that all of said artwork is STOLEN.

While there are talented artists out there struggling to eat, this guy is getting expensive exhibitions because he traced a freaking magazine photo.

Please ignore this jerk and support artists who actually have a conscience.

Another crazy whacked out LYING FOOL!

Next!

try this on

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGPH4htkDWM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqDXPPLCftg

“Cult-like worship of the leader has long been a staple of…” the American people.

If you want to know what I mean by that then scroll up to the examples in the actual post.

There are dozens of others that I could point out as well.

Nowhere in US history will you find a leader or event depicted in the fashion of Soviet or communist art. It’s never been done.

If you have examples to show, then post them.

As of now, you haven’t found any that are comparable.

Your assertion is based on some common understanding of what is “reminiscent of that [mode of portraying political candidates] which was used in Socviet bloc countries” … but what do YOU mean by that?

I suggest examining the history of American art much more closely … from Washington Crossing the Deleware … to this, of Ronald Reagan:

http://originaldo.com/ronald-reagan-mountain.jpg

ALL political candidates are depicted as grand champions … right?

No other candidate in US history has ever been portrayed in artwork reminiscent of that which was used in Soviet bloc countries.

It’s never happened. Until now.

Even the examples you cited don’t fit that template.

What was your point again?

If you look at campaign posters for candidates from the Democratic ticket or the Republican ticket in the United States, all are presented as icons – flat, two-dimensional, signifiers of confidence, strength, wisdom … all the “values” a nation wishes to embody.

Take a look at these campaign posters for the following Republican Presidential candidates:

Nixon: http://www.4president.org/nixon72poster.gif
Reagan: http://www.posters57.com/images/categories/1980_Reagan.jpg
McCain: http://images.johnmccain.com/images/posters/06_large.jpg

Both sides present their candidates as the nation’s saviour for whatever the current ills. And each side bashes, insults, ridicules the opposition.

No side is good as this nation over-simplifies multifaceted issues (like the economy, geopolitics, abortion, etc.) with either/or thinking. We all ought to demand well-rounded reasoning from our elected officials … not catch-phrase answers to complex problems.

Welcome, interesting and amazing! Immediately after reading your comments I came across this post by Paul Schlichta over at American Thinker:

How He Did It: A Diagrammatic Analysis of the Obama Campaign

http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/02/how_he_did_it_a_diagrammatic_a.html

You’ve definately spotted the subliminal marketing ploy of the well financed audacity portion of the Obama campaign in Mr. Schlichta’s analysis. Both pieces have me rather spooked. Just kidding. Good work!!

The Fairey designs frighteningly used the striking and unmistakably obtuse design elements that pervaded Com-Bloc chic etal. His designs left no room for doubt among those of us that were properly educated on socialism’s panacea of transitory promises and it’s expertly disguised, deadly aims. Fairey’s almost child-like use of primary colors that are expertly fused with striking design cues; the high contrast of simple, yet effective, posterization fields; all convey to the target audience a ‘conspiracy of cool’ that is quite unmatched in the world of empty, propagandized promises. As well, the apparently innocuous design constructs, successfully blared to all mouth-breathing, Luddite marxists, that BHO is quite ‘down for the cause’ no matter the circumstance or his use of contradictory verbiage while on his historic march of inevitable ‘change.’

Along with Fairy’s insurgent imagery, this pivotal photo was well-circulated, but it was seemingly mundane and a throw away. This was the photo of him wearing flip-flops and a sport coat while crossing the street. It was a political keystone to his success. At that point, I painfully understood how foundational was the importance of messaging through imagery is to him and quite frankly, that it supersedes his use of verbiage.

Having a uniquely odd perspective based on graphic design, photography, both coupled with my voraciously curious writer’s eye which seeks out the most tangential means of discovery that maybe hidden in subdued, contextual clues, I saw in this one photo a double entendre that literally poked out my 3rd eye in it’s direct immediacy. For a political junkie, it’s meanings were clear, concise and impactful. Yet it was singular and flat to those that have little interest in political machinations. For those apolitical, it held no meaning other than it was for general consumption. It’s seemingly innocuous intent was only to frame him as the unflappable Obama, being relaxed while expressing an odd fashion proclivity. However, hiding in plain sight, was a snide tongue & cheek, covert message. It was an expertly crafted, yet politically necessary message sent to his Useful Idiot Brigade.

The real kick in the mouth is that it was born out of the Republicans’ heavy use of flip-flops against Kerry in 04. Kerry’s stupefyingly verbose answer on his support/non-support for the Iraq War, which the GOP rightly bludgeoned him with daily, became a routine bitter pill for the left due to it’s overall effectiveness and simplicity. More importantly, it was a harsh reminder of Kerry’s lack of political acumen and that the Dems foolishly nominated an almost cartoonish candidate.

In the Barack flip-flop image of 08, was veiled, snickering, political pay-back from 04. In addition, it was well seasoned with a hint of counter-culture panache by way of Abbey Road. All were inspirational elements of the master-stroke embrace of flip-flops in this image. It adroitly signaled that Obama would be quite facile and conform to any centrist position in order get elected, while openly exposing that his heart and mind were still solidly far-left. With one simple image that shouted volumes to the politically hyper-sensitive, the heavy-on-propaganda candidate swiftly delivered a low-key, exceptionally clever back-handed slap at the GOP’s efforts in 04, while successfully allaying any residual fears felt about the candidate’s moderate, centrist tone required to win a nationwide general election.

After seeing such well-crafted imagery, I knew McCain was in for an unfair, uphill fight. In my estimation, Team Obama with ’strategic intent,’ purposefully hid any serious policy depth and repeatedly deviated, as situationally necessary, from any cohesive continuity of message. Both fully jettisoned political metrics are generally seen as critical elements that are basic prerequisites for even the most rudimentary of electoral campaigns. However, Barack could not afford to be suffocated by stasis on any controversial policy due to his situational pandering.

In this highly frustrating regard, a supple and supine press was more than eager to accommodate the daily policy shifts of Team Obama.

Other than the overwhelming, indomitable effect of his Soviet-style propaganda machine on the minds of the ill-educated, absolute vacuity was the most succinct and routine definition that came to my mind about Obama’s overall philosophy on governance. However visually, Stalinesque was the cataclysmic visage in my mind’s eye.

The biggest lesson I took away was that an unheard of depth of Madison Avenue’s creative muscle was brought to bear on John McCain and John Q. Public. The ad agencies in New York City will now be national campaign epicenters, not the RNC, the DNC or DC in general. In crafting, then selling, a successful campaign message for a national or regional audience, DC politicians have now been clearly exposed as feckless and insipid morons in yet another, critical endeavor.

In the final analysis, McCain was either caught seriously flat-footed and had no possible idea as to the forces aligning against him and the GOP, or he only phoned it in and took one for the team. I found it depressing that at numerous times during the campaign, the correct verbal coup de gras delivered by McCain, could have cut through his media deficit and dispatched Obama’s chances. He played to fair to win.

Which leaves us with the question. . . Was this whole election just a mere exercise of necessitated pomp, circumstance and perceived legal authority?

But that’s another tin-foil hat debate.

Thanks for remembering this post and posting an update; always nice for the archives.

Artist of famed Obama poster arrested in Boston

Sat Feb 7, 1:34 PM EST
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, 38, 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, police Officer James Kenneally said Saturday.

Fairey, 38, of Los Angeles, is scheduled to be arraigned on the misdemeanor charges Monday in Brighton

>snip<

Fairey’s Obama image has been sold on hundreds of thousands of stickers and posters, and was unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington before Obama’s inauguration.

The image is the subject of a copyright dispute with The Associated Press. Fairey argues his use of the AP photo is protected by “fair use,” which allows exceptions to copyright laws based on, among other factors, how much of the original is used, what the new work is used for and how the original is affected by the new work.

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-national/20090207/Obama.Poster.Arrest/

I know you’re just going on what you’re reading but social realism looks like this. Shepard’s work is more constructivist pop art.

Your reaction to the image is exactly as Shepard intended…

The PARANOID OR CONSERVATIVE VIEWER however may be confused by the sticker’s persistent presence and condemn it as an underground cult with subversive intentions.
-from the Obey Manefesto

That quote refers to the Andre the Giant has a Posse sticker that launches Fairey’s carreer. Quite the young capitalist, he has been very successful with his fine art, a clothing line and graphic design studio. His Obama piece will be one of the iconic images of the twenty-first century.