Shepard Fairey's Controversy

           

            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.