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A Newswire Named Sue

By Rain Noe - February 13, 2009

in Object Culture

AP photographer Mannie Garcia takes a photo of Obama on the campaign trail. Artist Shepard Fairey turns the image into a poster, and gets the pants sued off of him by AP. Then Garcia says he has the rights to the image, not AP, but that he's happy the photo was turned into the poster.

Ohmygod so like, I talked to Helen in gym, and like she totally said that Tony was staring at her in Biology. But I told her there's no way that could be true, 'cause like Tony totally knows Neil is into Helen, and Tony and Neil are friends, and Sandra sits behind Helen and I think Tony was just staring at Sandra!

Anyways.

Writes Steven Heller (of the Daily Heller) on the Garcia/Fairey/AP thing:

...I do want to point out that this is not the first time photographs (and other artworks) have been the raw material for graphic works. In fact, the already murky area called "fair use," which Fairey's lawyers are invoking, has been applied before. [Here] are a few that have passed that very test. (Che by Alberto Korda and Paul Davis; Nixon official photo and Andy Warhol; Mao official portrait and Andy Warhol; News photo of Sacco and Vanzetti and Ben Shahn; Michelangelo's Isaiah and Norman Rockwell's Rosie the Riveter.)

So...what do you think?

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Andy Polaine

15 years ago

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Fairey significantly altered the image and transformed it into a completely different graphic work that entirely overshadows the original photograph, which is pretty dull as a photograph.

Lawyers could make better use of their time, but hey, times are hard. Poor lambs. The AP's lawyers are particularly special idiots for not checking their own contracts, which is what I thought lawyers were there for in the first place.
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Craig

15 years ago

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Let's not forget that Mr. Fairey has made a lifestyle of stealing and re-appropriating other people's artwork, stripping them of their original context and refusing to give credit where credit is due. Slap an "obey" logo on that sucker, and it's money in the bank. If he was an All-American Good Guy there might be reason to believe his intentions were good, but to say such a thing about Mr. Fairey would be a huge stretch. His whole attitude towards art is that he has free right to whatever he happens to surf across on google. Not exactly "designer" logic.

The law is the law, so I'm not saying that it should bow to the whim of any disgusted designer (and I'll throw myself into that category for fairness) to serve their own purpose...that'd be hypocritical. But I will say that if he gets hammered, it was coming his way for a long time.
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MC

15 years ago

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I just think that Garcia feels pretty angry not having his picture as famous as Fairey's poster...
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Gong Szeto

15 years ago

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ordinarily i would say this is clear infringement. but fairey is obviously way cooler and interesting than garcia ever could be. either way this suit goes, garcia will go down in history as a big baby.
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AJ

15 years ago

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Actually Shep was contacted by the AP about the photo and he subsequently launched a preemptive strike (learned that move from W) by filing a lawsuit against the AP first, before they did. Rumor has it (somewhere on the interweb) that he was negotiating a settlement with the AP, tiding them over while he filed his lawsuit. Pretty sweet move.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aLD3ob_Bd1Oc&refer=us
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