Art World Shocker: Shepard Fairey Bites
Although it’s not really “news” that wheat pasting artist turned corporate designer Shepard Fairey has created a career around stealing imagery and re-appropriating it as his own, these guys do a good job of breaking down each transgression. They describe how, in each instance, the designs lack any of that weighty political philosophy you’d expect from a guy with a manifesto using big words like “Phenomenology.” Plus, they explain why the most overused Picasso cliché, a fav among Obey devotees, doesn’t even come close to holding water:
Some supporters of Shepard Fairey like to toss around a long misunderstand quote by Pablo Picasso, “Good artists copy, great artists steal.” Aside from the ridiculous comparison of Fairey to Picasso, there’s little doubt that Picasso was referring to the “stealing” of aesthetic flourishes and stylings practiced by master artists, and not simply carting off their works and putting his signature to them.
They also note is lack of actual art making when it comes to tracing his designs:
A last ditch defense used by Fairey groupies is to acknowledge that their champion does indeed “borrow” the works of other artists both living and deceased, but it is argued that the plundered works are all in the “public domain”, and therefore the rights of artists have not been violated. There are those who say that artists should have the right to alter and otherwise modify already existing works in order to produce new ones or to make pertinent statements. Despite some reservations I generally agree with that viewpoint - provided that such a process is completely transparent. However, I am outraged that anyone could make a career out of the consistent, secretive and wholesale copying of other people’s artworks. Fairey has habitually used, without permission, the works of other artists, both living and deceased. To have created one or two works in such a manner is perhaps forgivable, especially if there was no money involved, but Fairey has developed a profitable livelihood exclusively based on pilfering the artworks of others.
Next thing ya know, he’s going to jump ship on the art world and start designing track bikes, oh wait, ugh!
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be nice if we could get a link to the article you’re quoting
Comment by p — December 5, 2007 #
Comment by momtoldme — December 6, 2007 #
P: Thanks for the head ups, fixed. Don’t know how that was overlooked.
Comment by COMPLEX MNGMT. — December 6, 2007 #
Mark Vallen is simply trying to jumpstart his go-nowhere career by bashing someone who actually HAS one. It’s a time-honored tradition among the second-rate and failing. The fact that he passed out literature– including HIS OWN ART– amongst those standing in line at Fairey’s show ought to tell you he’s simply an opportunist out to raise his own profile. If he were truly interested in constructive dialogue he would have picked up the phone and made the local call to Fairey to ask him about it. Then, if he wasn’t satisfied with the answers– or at least wanted to include them– he could have offered up the other side of the coin. Instead, he posted a shrill call of “Look at Me!” in hopes of selling a few more canvases of his Jr. High caliber artwork. Pretty sad, really.
Comment by admonkey — December 8, 2007 #
Obviously written by a failing artist. That’s too bad, still a coffee jockey at starbucks, mark? The only people that whine like this are those that are not making a decent living in art and wish that they were.
Comment by Kevin — January 25, 2008 #
Mark Vallen is a hack.
Comment by anger — February 29, 2008 #
The funny thing, all the comments above have been copied and pasted across numerous blogs about this controversy. Evidently even his supporters can’t write original statements.
Comment by Sean S. — April 1, 2008 #
Appropriate that Sean pulled his thumb out of his ass to write his comment on April Fool’s Day.
Aren’t you too busy plotting the overthrow of democratic governments over chai lattes while complaining about being poor and struggling to surf the web?
How’s your trust fund holding up?
Comment by toopuck — April 15, 2008 #