Shepard Fairey – Appropriation of Truth?
Shepard Fairey admitted yesterday that he attempted to conceal the source image for his iconographic Obama Hope Poster. His countersuit will most likely be dropped, and he and his legal team will continue to argue the issue of ‘Fair Use.’
Even a clueless jury could see the original photograph and the poster are as close to the same as possible, it’s obvious that Fairey used the image copyrighted by the AP as his source. Quotes yesterday from Shepard Fairey:
“In an attempt to conceal my mistake, I submitted false images and deleted other images,” said Fairey. “I sincerely apologize for my lapse in judgment, and I take full responsibility for my actions, which were mine alone.”
From the Associated Press:
Fairey sued the not-for-profit news cooperative in February, arguing that he didn’t violate copyright law because he dramatically changed the image. The AP countersued in March, saying the uncredited, uncompensated use of an AP photo violated copyright laws and signaled a threat to journalism.
He said he was taking steps to correct the information and regretted that he didn’t come forward sooner.
Fairey, a Los Angeles-based street artist with a long, often proud history of breaking rules, said in a statement Friday that he was wrong about which photo he used and that he tried to hide his error.
But here’s when it gets really weird: (more from the AP):
Fairey described his craft as manipulating existing images and said barring such work is like “saying you can’t use those words anymore, they’ve already been used. How would we talk to each other?”
Ok Shepard, isn’t that a bit too much? But is Fairey arguing for the copyrighting of common speech? Is a Window a hole in the wall covered with glass or a computer operating system? Let’s not even get into OBEY Giant and OBEY Your Thirst.
Shepard Fairey should just give up; it’s obvious he used the image in question. Why make a horde of lawyers richer fighting a battle that would never exist if not for fame. Artists / Designers appropriate all the time, it’s just when the work gains visibility that a problem arises. For those who have been inspired by the work of Shepard Fairey for years this is disappointing.
For more on the issue of Fair Use, and discussion of Sherry Levine (who is at least honest about her appropriation of content) see my earlier post.
Link to yesterdays’ original AP reporting via HuffPost here.
Desperation and Boastfulness on Linkedin
I am a regular user of Linkedin, I was not an early adopter, but I have utilized the site frequently as it’s a helpful tool in my recent job.
Compared to other social networking sites, Linkedin is all business. Posting the name of your favorite musical artist would be a bit questionable, as the site is purposely made more for ‘serious grown ups’, compared to lamespace and lamebook.
Pictures on Linkedin? Sure as long as they’re tiny and located only here. Info text about your job, education and letters of recommendation – yes Linkedin has that, but it’s purpose is as a networking tool, with the more guilty pleasures of other sites minimized.
Could someone place content on their Linkedin page that would be detrimental to their job or personal status? Sure –but this process of oversharing would almost seem an inappropriate use of the tool – using the ‘software’ in a way it’s not intended.
One of the great things about Linkedin is it can be used efficiently, the amount of information you can gather can be acquired through skimming and scanning; mousing quick through the recent updates – deciding to move on or digging in to detail. Compared to other social networking tools – Linkedin is for adults, the others are for the kids.
Linkedin profiles all have a similar structure, with the highest priority personal data being your personal ‘headline’, following that are the summary and specialties of the individual. You are limited in the quantity of your headline, some go short, and others use every character available, interesting are the headlines that hint towards the quiet desperation of unemployment mixed with the aggressiveness of personal promotion. When I see the headline of an acquaintance turn to: ‘Experienced Professional’ uhh ohh – someone’s out of a job…
Here’s are samples of some of the most subtly jarring headlines I’ve seen on Linkedin, these are posted by people who are approaching their career detours with humility or aggressiveness:
- Experienced Executive
- Company name = In Transition
- CFO at my house.com
- Seeking new opportunities
If someone actually has their headline as Unemployed – it’s a blast of cold reality in a place of indirect statements.
And, for you big corporate workers out there – no one outside of your monster sized beehive cares that you are LEAN, know about FAST, practice KAIZEN or have a silly 6 SIGMA Black Belt! Those of us that work at smaller companies or as indy contractors chuckle that the big corps have the time and money to create these sandbox games. How are those incestuous consultant pushed false sense of accomplishments working out for you now? Jeez, you folks are worse than someone with a Ph.d making 24K/year.
Perhaps the most aggressive statement I’ve read on Linkedin is: “Next to the Bible, Atlas Shrugged is the most frequently read book by CEO’s in the Western World.” – Posted on Linkedin by a “Visionary Transformational Leader.” (who is unemployed).