Shepard Fairey sentenced over Hope poster

Acid Midget is always looking for the next court case to rock the street art world. The latest features OBEY superstar Shepard Fairey, who was recently found guilty of criminal contempt for tampering with evidence in the widely publicised AP lawsuit. Fairey had used one of AP's images of then-senator Barack Obama to make his famed 'Hope' poster. But everyone in the street art community rallied behind Fairey because, well, he appeared in Exit Through the Gift Shop.

He sued AP in 2009 over their claims of copyright infringement. But after contesting that he used a different image, Fairey tried to hide the evidence by deleting computer documents and replacing them with new ones. He pleaded guilty to one count of criminal contempt in February this year.

The three-year case ended when a New York court recently found Fairey guilty of the charge. He was sentenced to 300 hours of community service, a $25,000 fine and is also on two years’ probation. He has also paid AP a $1.6 million fine.

In an overdue act of contrition, Fairey recently sat in his website's confessional box and told his fans:

"I accept full responsibility for violating the Court’s trust by tampering with evidence during my civil case with the Associated Press," he wrote.

Do you buy it? I'm sort of expecting a new phase for the 'Hope' poster. I see new iterations of it saying 'BROKE'.

Picture: Acclaim Mag

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■ Shepard Fairey, Obama and the Obey Sticker

New film Obey the Giant

Obey the Giant is an ambitious new narrative film being produced by students at the Rhode Island School of Design in the US.

Currently in post-production, the film tells the story of a young Shepard Fairey's first act of street art. According to the trailer, the now-famous artist vandalised a campaign billboard for Buddy Cianci - who was running for re-election as mayor of Providence on Rhode Island - in the 1980s.

The team of 150 who worked on the project are unable to finish it. They were asking for $30,000 in donations to finish it off. They reached that target and are now asking for $70,000. I wonder if the Kony 2012 campaigners were this successful?



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■ Kony 2012 campaign
■ Banksy's Exit Through the Gift Shop
■ Shepard Fairey

Shepard Fairey, Obama and the obey sticker

(Australia Street, Newtown, Sydney)

The OBEY brand keeps kicking every decade doesn't it?

New stickers are ALL OVER Melbourne and now Sydney is getting hit hard. Just infesting this planet.

But, um, why isn't the OBEY slogan used with Andre the Giant's face any more?

That's 78 per cent of the reason why the poster became famous in the late 1980s.

The poster's creator, Shepard Fairey, has been a busy boy lately - especially with the Associated Press.

According to his website (link), a settlement was reached recently for a copyright infringement lawsuit over the Obama HOPE poster he created during the 2008 US presidential election.

Apparently Fairey used the highly lucrative image without permission from AP.

(Image source)

But it's OK now, according to a press release on Fairey's site:

The two sides have also agreed to work together going forward with the Hope image and share the rights to make the posters and merchandise bearing the Hope image and to collaborate on a series of images that Fairey will create based on AP photographs.

Great to see both parties are able to work together going forward and come to an agreement that Shepard Fairey is a talented artist who they can co-brand with/milk.

I wish more of us could work together going forward because that would end every war and the pains they create.

Have you ever had to work together going forward with someone you really cared about, but fucking hated?

Is there a more insidiously bureaucratic phrase than motherfucking "work together going forward"?