News and Politics | February 12, 2009 | 4 comments

Fairey's Art of Hypocrisy

source: http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/02/12/faireys_art_of_hypocrisy/

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"I'm all for free expression. But if you're out for a walk, feel the call of nature, and decide to relieve yourself on my doorstep, that is not an act of free expression. I love Salman Rushdie. But if he breaks into my house, eats my food, and uses my iMac to write his next novel, I'm calling the ayatollahs.

Fairey's past as a tagger gives him street cred with the ICA crowd. It must be so cool to be young and hip and edgy. But the people who defend taggers as "artists" have the same mindset as the Manhattan socialites who defended self-described revolutionaries in the 1960s. Tom Wolfe coined a term for these fools: Radical Chic. Those who defend vandals like Shepard Fairey are the New Radical Chic.

Some of Fairey's defenders admire the iconic image of President Obama that Fairey "appropriated" from an Associated Press photograph. But it is more than a little rich that Fairey - who got lugged into Brighton District Court for blowing off an appearance related to tagging charges from nine years ago - is the first guy to go running to the courts when the law suits his interests.

This is the same guy who responded to the AP's claim that it owns the copyright on the Obama photo by hauling the AP into court.

And when some right-wing kook appropriated the Obama image that Fairey had appropriated from the AP, Fairey sicced his lawyers on him.

When you have an exhibit at the ICA, a clothing line, and a bunch of fawning critics hanging on your every word, you're not antiestablishment anymore. The C in ICA doesn't stand for counterculture.

To those who weep for Shepard Fairey, save your tears. He's laughing all the way to the bank.

With the skills he has honed, Fairey is wasting his time as an artist, anyway. He should go where his considerable talent for self-promotion and hypocrisy will be appropriately compensated and appreciated by his peers.

He should run for office."
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4 comments // Fairey's Art of Hypocrisy

  • ninthstate
  • NoGodsNoMasters
    • 0
      NoGodsNoMasters  

    • oh god, how the jaded have turned. God help us if Banksy ever says he likes a main stream politician. Then all the self righteous blowhards will have a field day.

      "I'm radical because I am anti-everything no matter if it makes sense or not. It makes me edgy and a revolutionary." This is what I hear every time people bitch about Shephard supporting a mainstream political candidate that he felt passionate about. It's not like he made a fuckin poster for Wal-Mart.

      Get over yourselves.

    • 3 years ago
  • drewsuf721
  • VitaminStolz
    • 0
      VitaminStolz  

    • hmm, office, interesting:)
      I can't let AP take credit for an image that he made notorious through his art. It would have been a normal photograph without Fairey.
      I'd like to know if he really took profit or actually gave it all towards Obama's campaign.

    • 3 years ago
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