There
has been a lot of controversy concerning the Obama “Hope” poster that was
created by Shepard Fairey during Obama’s 2008 campaign. It was never Obama’s
official campaign poster, but it was well received by supporters. The controversy stemmed from the
question of whether Fairey plagiarized the image from an AP photo taken by
Mannie Garcia. The photo was under copyright by the AP and Fairey brought a
civil suit against the AP to claim he did not violate copyright laws. However, he destroyed evidence that
implicated him and lied to the court when presenting his evidence for the
case. He was discovered by one of
his lawyers and forced to admit his deceit. He had gone to great lengths to conceal that he had indeed
used the AP photo in question rather than a cropped version of another photo
which would have been somewhat different.
Based on this admission, he was found guilty of lying to the court and
he settled the copyright infringement accusation with the AP forcing him to pay
monetary compensation. He had made
a gross error in not asking permission to use the photo and compounded it with
his lies. Copyright laws exist to
protect the work of individuals from being stolen by others who might take it
as their own. This was not the first piece that Shepard Fairey had been accused
of plagiarizing or copying. Other
works very closely resemble pieces of other artists. For example, the “obey
giant” photo by Shepard Fairey was under controversy.
Source:
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/24/shepard-fairey-pleads-guilty-over-obama-hope-image/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0
Plagiarism
is taking someone else’s work and calling it your own. In my opinion, the
images look different when compared side by side. Shepard Fairey adds his own artistic view of the photo taken
by Mannie Garcia of Obama adding a political statement. He made Obama seem like an American
figure. Mannie Garcia’s original on the left, displays the president as serious
and intellectual, which is different from Shepard’s. However, although the two pieces
are portrayed in different artistic ways, it is the same image of Obama.
There are many photos throughout
the years that are “remakes” of others. Artists compare artwork, and get
inspired by different artists. They take techniques, photos, and even little
parts of ideas. Sometimes this is accepted, if there is original thought.
The Fair Use Act of 1976 is for
copyrighted materials. It says that certain items can be referenced if you are
a student, using it for a parody, or for non-profit. A parody is the mock of a
work with a comic effect. However, sometimes the lines blur between parodies
and plagiarisms. How is does one tell the difference? How much original thought
should their be to be a parody?
A
parody that was under controversy was Paula Sher’s photo on the right below.
However, unlike Fairey, she asked permission of Herbert Matter to use the image.
Herbert Matter created the original photo on the left below. This made people
question art as to what it is? What is plagiarism? It made people realize that
parody and plagiarism are very similar, and possibly even the same. Sher
changed the tilt of the head, the colors and other small details, sort of like
Shepard Fairey, how is it her own? However, the final product acknowledged all of
the artists involved in the process including Herbert Matter, Paula Sher, and
Terry Koppel. Since Paula Sher took copyright precautions, she did not get sued.
However, the public was questioning - was this “joke” too close to the original
swatch advertisement? Nevertheless, this was meant as a joke from Paula Sher,
even though the public continues to question it. As shown in class, Paula Sher
has many original works, and original ideas.
Source: http://retinart.net/creativity/scher-plagiarism-parody/
Additionally
Jeff Koonz made a sculpture (right, below) from the photo of Art Rogers (left,
below). Jeff Koonz was not as careful as Paula Sher acting more like Shepard
Fairey. Art Rogers sued him since the only thing changed about the photo was
the color and the fact it was a sculpture. This is a very controversial subject
because Koonz claims that he changed it more than others seem to realize. “If
the copyright law won, then art lost” is what many seem to believe about the
case.
Source: http://observatory.designobserver.com/entry.html?entry=6467
Regardless of how you look at the
Obama poster, Mannie Garcia’s photo was used. There are similarities and
differences between the images. To relate it to the non-art world, it is like
writing a research paper but basing some of your ideas from published books.
These books contain the ideas and thoughts of someone else, who you then cite
in the references. Shepard Fairey was devious in his actions surrounding the
use of the AP image, which also points to the suggestion that he thought what
he had done was wrong. He should
have asked permission of Mannie Garcia to use his photo. Copyright laws were
put into place to protect the intellectual or artistic property of their
creators from those who would use them for their own gain. This is unfair to the originator since
they would not be recognized for nor profit from the new use of their
work. I believe Shepard Fairey
plagiarized the AP photo of Mannie Garcia.
