The second thing that drives me nuts is that folks assume because of who I am and what I do for a living that my politics are extremely to the left. Many of my friends in the industry are Obamabots and I’ve pretty much given up trying to talk facts with them. I just tell them “wait and see.”

I’ve never understood how or why artists and other creatives who thrive and depend upon freedom of expression could be okay with cozying up to the very people that could (and historically have) silenced them!

I’ve seen many art exhibitions by liberal minded people who proclaim to value aesthetic experimentation and new ideas, but their work amounts to little more than political propaganda or nihilistic shock value.

Yes, I thought pretty much the first time I saw Mr. Fairey’s “art.”

Any imaging program could produce what he does with a bare minimum of effort.

There doesn’t seem to be a lot of artistry involved.

But of course cans of spray paint are his preferred instruments.

We wont pass. Those of us who want our nation back are already being labeled subversives and partisans. This is the actual beginning of the conflict. Take heed, and be very careful. The progroms are not far off, and we will soon be the “enemy of the state”. I am glad I lived long enough to die for my country.

One of the “winners” of USA’S Characters Approved Awards:

http://video.usanetwork.com/pl.....oid=967861

Notice behind Sheppard (in the video) is another poster with a rather ominous ‘OBEY” message.

If he passes the muster for being a character that counts – ay yai yai – I would really hate to see the ones who didn’t.

Also a lot of irony in Mr. Sheppard talking about “propaganda”, he really should know. He also “justifies” damaging other people’s property all in the name of his “artistry”

Creator of Famed Obama Poster Arrested on Graffiti Charges

BOSTON — A street artist famous for his red, white and blue “Hope” posters of President 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.”

Two warrants were issued for Fairey on Jan. 24 after police determined he’d tagged property in two locations with graffiti based on the Andre the Giant street art campaign from his early career, Officer James Kenneally said. One of the locations was the railroad trestle by the landmark Boston University bridge over the Charles River, police said.

Fairey, 38, of Los Angeles, is scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Brighton District Court, said Jake Wark, a spokesman for the Suffolk District Attorney. Wark said Fairey would also be arraigned on a default warrant related to a separate graffiti case in the Roxbury section of Boston.

Fairey has spent the last two weeks in the Boston area installing the ICA exhibit and creating outdoor art, including a 20-by-50 foot banner on the side of City Hall, according to a statement issued Saturday by the museum.

The museum said Fairey was released a few hours after his arrest. Boston police confirmed Fairey had been released, but did not know exactly when or the amount of his bail.

A man who answered the phone at Fairey’s Los Angeles studio, Studio One, declined comment.

“Shepard Fairey was completely unaware that there were any warrants for his arrest. Had he known, he would have resolved all such issues before the opening of his art exhibit at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston,” his attorney, Jeffrey Wiesner, said in an e-mail.

Fairey has been arrested numerous times for drawing on buildings and other private property without permission.

His Obama image has been sold on hundreds of thousands of stickers and posters, and was unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington before Obama’s inauguration.

The image is the subject of a copyright dispute with The Associated Press. Fairey argues his use of the AP photo is protected by “fair use,” which allows exceptions to copyright laws based on, among other factors, how much of the original is used, what the new work is used for and how the original is affected by the new work. …

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,489604,00.html

What a surprise – he doesn’t respect copyrights, so why should he respect the concept of private property?

Artist of famed Obama poster arrested in Boston

A street artist famous for his red, white and blue “Hope” posters of President Obama has been arrested on warrants accusing him of tagging property with graffiti, police said Saturday…

Two warrants were issued for [Shepard] Fairey on Jan. 24 after police determined he’d tagged property in two locations with graffiti based on the Andre the Giant street art campaign from his early career, police Officer James Kenneally said Saturday…

The image is the subject of a copyright dispute with The Associated Press. Fairey argues his use of the AP photo is protected by “fair use,” which allows exceptions to copyright laws based on, among other factors, how much of the original is used, what the new work is used for and how the original is affected by the new work….

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/.....934S62.DTL

So not only is Fairey a “street artist,” but also a vandal and a thief. (Go Associated Press; I could have created that poster with Photoshop!)

I predict Fairey will get some sort of award from TCO for being brave and standing up against ‘da man.