Shepard Fairey aka the Obey Giant

When will the drama stop

Shepard Fairey, the visual artist who created the iconic “Hope” poster of Barack Obama, has filed suit against The Associated Press, according to court documents. Last week, The A.P. said in a statement that the poster, based on an A.P. photograph taken by Mannie Garcia in April 2006, requires its permission for use of the image, and that it is seeking credit and compensation for its use in Shepards's works.

In the suit, filed in U.S. District Court in NY, lawyers for Shepard Fairey are seeking a declaratory judgment which would rule that Fairey’s poster does not infringe on The Associated Press’s copyrights and is protected by the Fair Use Doctrine. The complaint also seeks an injunction enjoining The Associated Press from asserting its copyrights against Shepard Fairey, his company, Obey Giant, and anyone in possession of the poster or works derived from it, as well as a jury trial.

I was reading this article in the NY Times art section and this is the update with whats going on with A.P. and Obey founder Shepard Fairey over the famous Obama "HOPE" Poster.

Which side are you on?

Obama Commerative Plates by Shephard

Shephard Fairey really hit the big time when his Obama print was picked up by the Obama Presidential Campaign that I discussed in last year in this post.




Having subsequently designed the official Inaugural Poster for Obama, he looks well positioned to become the go-to guy for reshaping how we visualize the White House, even with their awesome face lift they had.

Shephard Fairey has now got into the presidential souvenir pool with a set of commemorative plates (above).

Produced in a limited edition of 500 each, the plates feature Obama's visage at center with a border of slogans culled from last year's campaign. The plates can be purchased individually for $89, or as a set of two (one of each color) for $178, from The Future Perfect

Shephard was even asked to do a Martin Luther King Jr. image for Google to honor Martin Luther King day.

Beautiful Losers

For those that haven't gotten a chance to catch a screening of this upcoming movie, you can catch it when it releases 08-08-08. Beautiful Losers goes into a personal view among some of today's most prominent artists including Geoff McFetridge, Stephen Powers aka ESPO, and Shepard Fairey.