Post by wolfbite on Feb 9, 2009 6:00:43 GMT 7
Shepard Fairey the artist who designed the Zeitgeist Cover arrested.
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The creator of the famous Hope poster falls foul of the law.
THE red, white and blue Hope posters bearing the image of Barack Obama brought worldwide fame to the Los Angeles street artist who created them and arguably helped their subject win the White House.
But Shepard Fairey, a guerilla artist willing to go to jail for his distinctive graffiti, hasn't gone entirely mainstream. Fairey was arrested on Saturday in Boston on his way to the Institute of Contemporary Art for a kick-off event for his first solo exhibition, Supply and Demand.
Two warrants had been issued for Fairey last month after police determined he had graffitied property in two locations with his street art campaign featuring Andre the Giant and the word "Obey", said Boston police officer James Kenneally.
Fairey, a commercial artist and graphic designer, is expected to be charged today. He was reported to have been released on bail a few hours after his arrest.
Fairey's Obama image has been sold on hundreds of thousands of stickers and posters and was unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington before Mr Obama's inauguration. He has produced similar artwork and posters for the third annual Earth Hour, which takes place in at least 74 countries on March 28.
Fairey had spent the past two weeks in Boston installing his solo exhibition at the institute, giving sold-out public talks, being honoured by the Rhode Island School of Design (his alma mater) and creating and unveiling outdoor artworks.
Because of the latest arrest, he was unable to serve as DJ for Saturday night's "Experiment" party at the institute, where more than 750 people were waiting for him.
The Boston Globe reported that Fairey, who was influenced by artists such as Andy Warhol and Keith Haring, said he had been arrested 14 times.
"The street thing is an outlet for me," he said in 2007. "It's the freedom of it that's really exciting."
He added: "I don't have this obsessive need to do street art all the time because it's already opened doors for me. I'm now able to do things that won't be cleaned in a day, that won't get me arrested."
www.theage.com.au/world/obama-artist-arrested-for-graffiti-20090208-80y1.html
*******************************************
The creator of the famous Hope poster falls foul of the law.
THE red, white and blue Hope posters bearing the image of Barack Obama brought worldwide fame to the Los Angeles street artist who created them and arguably helped their subject win the White House.
But Shepard Fairey, a guerilla artist willing to go to jail for his distinctive graffiti, hasn't gone entirely mainstream. Fairey was arrested on Saturday in Boston on his way to the Institute of Contemporary Art for a kick-off event for his first solo exhibition, Supply and Demand.
Two warrants had been issued for Fairey last month after police determined he had graffitied property in two locations with his street art campaign featuring Andre the Giant and the word "Obey", said Boston police officer James Kenneally.
Fairey, a commercial artist and graphic designer, is expected to be charged today. He was reported to have been released on bail a few hours after his arrest.
Fairey's Obama image has been sold on hundreds of thousands of stickers and posters and was unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington before Mr Obama's inauguration. He has produced similar artwork and posters for the third annual Earth Hour, which takes place in at least 74 countries on March 28.
Fairey had spent the past two weeks in Boston installing his solo exhibition at the institute, giving sold-out public talks, being honoured by the Rhode Island School of Design (his alma mater) and creating and unveiling outdoor artworks.
Because of the latest arrest, he was unable to serve as DJ for Saturday night's "Experiment" party at the institute, where more than 750 people were waiting for him.
The Boston Globe reported that Fairey, who was influenced by artists such as Andy Warhol and Keith Haring, said he had been arrested 14 times.
"The street thing is an outlet for me," he said in 2007. "It's the freedom of it that's really exciting."
He added: "I don't have this obsessive need to do street art all the time because it's already opened doors for me. I'm now able to do things that won't be cleaned in a day, that won't get me arrested."
www.theage.com.au/world/obama-artist-arrested-for-graffiti-20090208-80y1.html
