Artist of Famed Obama poster Arrested in Boston

[NashVegas]

Source: AP / WQOW

BOSTON (AP) - Police in Boston say the artist famous for his "Hope" posters of President Obama has been arrested on outstanding warrants.

Shepard Fairey was in Boston on Friday for his new exhibit at the Institute of Contemporary Art.

Police Officer James Kenneally says the department had Jan. 24 warrants alleging the Los Angeles artist tagged property with graffiti.

Read more: http://www.wqow.com/global/story.asp?s=9805684

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Great publicity for Fairey, Obama not so much.

[drm604]

1. This is certainly not Obama's fault

but you can bet that it will be used against him. Republicans love to push guilt by association.

But I have to believe that most Obama supporters will see it for what it is.

[NashVegas]

2. Of Course Not

And your first line is exactly what I meant in that it will soon turn up on TV and newspapers columnsas, "Obama associates with vandals."

[Cha]

20. I say Tough Shit..Obama can handle

this..he handled it during the primaries and the general. The fuckers are always going to be fuckers. Fuck 'em.

[tom_paine]

24. Yes, Bushies and Nazis alike use the Guilt By Association Big Lie.

Unfortunately, it seems to work as well for the Bushies as it did for their Nazi Allies.

Remember, Hitler LOST the last even semi-free election in Germany, which was 1934.

He lost...yet still won anyway. Sounds familiar? Sounds like our Bushies, doesn't it?

[crikkett]

3. I wonder how much of his graffiti was painted over.

I want the walking tour...

[EFerrari]

4. At least this time, he can afford a lawyer.

[acmavm]

5. Oh nuts, this guys problems are this guy's problems. (Just as a aside, he

doesn't sound like public enemy no. 1 to me.) I bet Obama wasn't even at the scene of the crime and unless someone can show that he was, its stupid to even bring this up.

Having said that, it is probably already on Faux.

[patrice]

6. Oh god! I have a problem with tagging!

I LOVE IT!

[frylock]

10. there's a world of difference between tagging and grafitti..

you may not care for either, but lets not lump what fairey does into the category of mere tagging.

[patrice]

12. Thanks for the clarification. What do you call what I see on the hugely ugly train cars

that i see a few hundreds of every week?

[Demit]

14. That's tagging. This is more guerrilla art.

Tagging has a different motivation—the competition amongst taggers, the thrill of doing it in inaccessible locations, the thrill of not getting caught. It has certainly been glorified by a lot of people who write about art, who see the artistry in it, but it's a different activity. Fairey's is street art, a sort of performance art, or political art. It's intended as art.

[patrice]

15. I'm not all that familiar with Fairey, but I do like,very much, his use of mandala-like principles.

Om namah Shivaya!

[EFerrari]

22. My kid used to go out and write with Country Joe McDonald's kid

and I used to get on my knees and beg them to please not get hurt or arrested. They were both fabulous. Nick spent hours drawing since he was about two and could do it in his sleep. Wherever we went on vacation, he used to show me who had been there and where they were from.

[dipsydoodle]

7. They've never arrested Banksy

:shrug:

[Donnachaidh]

11. that looks like a UK picture

apples and oranges. :shrug:

[dipsydoodle]

13. It is

but I don't see the difference. I reckon they've more than likely picked on him because of the Obama pic.x(

[Arctic Dave]

16. My thought too.

BTW, I never seen this one. Cool.

[dipsydoodle]

17. Go here

for what may well be most of them : http://www.artofthestate.co.uk/Banksy/Banksy_photos_thumb_001.htm

Well a hundred or so anyway. :}

:hi:

[Arctic Dave]

19. Cool. Much thanks my friend. :)

[TheBigotBasher]

21. I am under the impression Westminster City Council wants to arrest him

And they paint over his art; much to the annoyance of residents whose property he has just painted on. It tends to triple its value.

[heliarc]

23. That's probably because no one would press charges...

Banksy artworks go for lots of money. If he tags your building you best cut out the wall and sell it at auction. You'd probably make enough money to buy a new building.

[byronius]

8. Fairey isn't responsible -- in Sacramento, his art appeared everywhere.

An article about it in the News and Review talked about how the 'OBEY' piece was reproduced by others, all over the town.

And frankly, I think it added some coolness and joy-of-life to a drab and concrete-colored city.

I still glance at them weekly.

[Trajan]

9. Poor Poor Obama ....

What ever shall he do ?

Forever stained with the shame of being painted by someone else who was arrested for painting on something else !

Oh Fate ! ..... Alas ! ... He is doomed ....

Poor Poor Obama ....

Cmon ....

[Chemical Bill]

18. Shep Fairey has done great gorilla art.

When he was a student at RISD he put his Andre the giant face on a billboard for the reelection campaign of Mayor Buddy Cianci (yes, the convicted felon). I was lucky enough to drive by the morning after it was done. They both loved the publicity, and Cianci didn't press charges, IIRC.

http://obeygiant.com/articles/college-hill-independent

Sorry I can't find a pic.

Bill

[snot]

25. "Jan. 24 warrants"??

It seems unlikely to me that Fairy's been personally "tagging" propery in Boston any time recently.

See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_EOzZ9iaJQ

[glitch]

26. The exhibit will sell out now, if it hadn't before. :) nt

[CraftyGal]

27. Artist of Famed Obama Poster Arrested

Source: AOL News

BOSTON (Feb. 7) - A street artist famous for his red, white and blue "Hope" posters of President Barack Obama has been arrested on warrants accusing him of tagging property with graffiti, police said Saturday.

Shepard Fairey was arrested Friday night on his way to the Institute of Contemporary Art for a kickoff event for his first solo exhibition, called "Supply and Demand."



Street artist Shepard Fairey is due in court Monday, following his arrest in Boston on graffiti charges. Police in Boston say he defaced property in two locations with graffiti based on his Andre the Giant street art. Fairey gained fame last year with his "Hope" posters of Barack Obama. Here, he signs one of the posters on Jan. 12 in Los Angeles, where he lives.

Read more: http://news.aol.com/article/obama-poster-arrest/333192

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There is a poll there as well. What does everyone think?

I get frustrated with graffiti however I like really creative designs.

CraftyGal

[BlooInBloo]

28. 1) I don't do AOL; 2) He's a "guerilla artist"

3) Now all we're gonna hear about is "the criminal element" in the White House.

And the spoof photoshop jobs. Can't wait to see those as well.


EDIT: Forgot to provide a decent alternative, per my 1) : http://tinyurl.com/aqoe64


EDITEDIT: Man but the DU site software is really starting to bug me.

[avaistheone1]

29. bummer. Sorry to learn of the arrest.

I really like the posters he did of Obama.

[NJCher]

30. get off his back

is what I'd like to have happen but fact is, old wrongs will catch up with a person.


SF has his hands full anyway, what with the AP legal thing over his taking the photograph without permission.

I'm using the SF story in my classes as an example of what happens if a person borrows material without permission. Copyright laws put a real damper on creativity but a knowledge of how to deal with them could have beneficial to Shepard.

[Doctor_J]

31. Anyone involved with Obama needs to beware

They will be arrested for any and all "transgressions". The DoJ and law enforcement in general are still very right-wing

[OKNancy]

32. this happened Friday

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=3727984