shepard fairey been wack. c'mon, ya'll know that shit is fuckin lame like some wharf shirts!

Personally I think it is a bit much... Obviously I think Shepard gets shit done on a major scale and I do not think that Orr had anything but fresh and funny intentions. How is this really any different than taking something from a time when © was not a normal practice. Art is theft!

Not that serious!
©fecalface 2008
all right reserved

Yeah "borrow" is a good word for it.
Come on Shepard how is it different from when you were start your deal. Art imitates life sucka

first off, no offense, but orr's work is all round super lame, terrible. second, and shepard's got a point. but i also think the obey stuff has gotten filthy boring.
this is a stupid attack on some who's not even big. eat shit, both of them.

From Fairey's _Supply and Demand_ p. 34:

Andy Warhol was a big inspiration because he made a mockery of the fine art world, taking press stills and household items and turning them into high art. I felt like what I was doing was pop art in a similar vein, but I was taking it even further outside the institutions and straight to the street. I remember when I was making t-shirts, somebody said, “Isn’t it amazing that you’re taking one of the ugliest images ever and putting it on a shirt, and people are buying it up as fashion?” I had the idea of taking that a step further by taking Marilyn’s sex symbol face and changing that into Andre’s ugly face. Andre wasn’t a handsome man and he’s even a more hideous woman, but people loved the humor of the poster and snapped it up anyway.

So, I doubt that Mr. Fairey could care less about this...

Yeah, the ORR stuff isn't that good, but this news, (real or fake) will be the best press ever for him. maybe it's just a pr stunt. whatever, he'll finally sell out of those prints that no one's been buying.

this whole thing cracks me up! Some young naive "artist" thinks sweet the perfect loophole in the "system" prints up a couple hundred prints, sells them, it causes a big stir and promotes his stuff. no press is bad press I guess... I just bought a few of his prints, they look pretty quality.

Hey guys!

Thank you for posting this, though I feel just a little bit stupid for reading it. And even more stupid for commenting. But I couldn't stop myself. I felt a rant coming on and gave in:

The whole thing is such an obvious publicity stunt crafted by one or both of these bottom-of-the-barrel livetrace-button-slammers. (wow so many hyphens.) But just in case it is true then it really makes me think. It seems that now days if you can master the pen tool and a few other little tricks you can call your self an artist. What we really end up with plagiarists plagiarizing plagiarists and laughing all the way to the bank. So sad. Perhaps the only bad byproduct of the Adobe Creative Suite?

On one hand both 'artists' know something about composition and color theory. But on the other hand they've been quick to go with the easiest format and style they could grab in order to make a dollar out of fifteen cents. What is really alarming though is that the public eats it up and calls it modern American art! I suppose though that is what it really is right? I mean if we all agree this is the new aesthetic to be embraced, than it's modern popular art right? hmmmmm....

At some point everyone steals a little from everyone but I think the goal of the artist should be to keep that as subtle as possible and use it only as a means to an end, that end being the creation of your own style. I love Charles Burns, and I love Margaret Kilgallen. Both have had a big influence on where I want to go with my art. That being said, I'm not going to straight up bite their work.

Thanks for posting the great links too. I have to agree with Mark Vallen and his colleagues. Fairy has crossed the line when it comes to appropriating (copywriting) images that were created and intended for the public domain often by anonymous artists. I question whether he has done so to protect his artistic vision (whatever that may be), or to protect his financial interests marketing things like stickers and t-shirts? We all need to make some dough for what we do. The old masters were payed for there work and so are the masters of the new school. But they were payed and considered masters because they arrived at their own style.

I've always thought Fairey was a glorified sticker-maker and someone who took 2-D design and silk screening and then called himself an artist. I would say power to him, except that he kind of bites donkey dick for the blatant plagiarisms of some of his work. And I've heard the Andy Warhol Campbell Soup Can argument...sorry, Andy wasn't out to sell t-shirts and posters. He could have done that and just stayed a graphic designer. Andy actually had some depth to his work.

Perhaps that Fairy's vision or statement? That plagiarisms can be art too and so in effect the whole wall comes tumbling down? again I say hmmmmm....

So happy that you guys are paying attention to this stuff for me. Great stuff! Thanks for letting me rant.

Aaron

It's a parody, completely legal. Money or no money. Shepard Fairey should know this and all artists should revel in it. Know your rights.

so undeniably corny

Nothing but a lame publicity stunt by this other guy.

Shepard would never do this - check the obeygiant site - they have had images of bootlegs up there for years and supports people messing with the OBEY image....

That being said, if you look at the other guy's site you will see that his whole style is a poorly executed imitation of Shepard's work. I still doubt that Shepard care, but maybe his company would.

Shep is rich. Why does he think some nobody in Austin, TX is threatening his megabucks? What a pussy.

lame publicity stunt by no talent Orr. Mission Accomplished.

Amazing how the language in Baxter's "cease and desist" is EXACTLY the same as one you can find online...

http://www.utsystem.edu/OGC/
INTELLECTUALPROPERTY/contract/cease.htm

Aaron said it all right there, thanks Aaron. i myself have shuddered at the Warhol comparison bit.

further more if it is a publicity stunt i gotta hand it to the kid. and i like his art better.

"Hand it to the kid"? For what? Trying to get publicity by dragging Obey through the mud? He gets no respect from me for that. And after taking a look at his website, he gets no respect from me for his art, either. H to the A to the C to the K.

Got to hand it to this guy, this is modern art at its finest, a lawsuit.

He may not be as good as all the artists in their 30's and 40's but he's pretty decent at his little niche. Just picked up an Elvis print.

Vince Mcmahon Sr. should be everyone.

sad thing is I like the masked andre better than the original. never been much into obey though.

Orr is a talentless hack Flacking his own garbage for headlines on artzines.

This whole "story" is a joke.

they're both tracing photos and other peoples art. i just feel that what the kid's trying to say with his Abode Illustrator skills gets me more than what Mr Obey is doing with his. again, i might be biased because i think Mr Obey should have stuck to Xerox machines.

that was me, the greatest.

Everyone wants to say that this is for Orr's personal gain and he contrived the whole thing!

Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit....
This email was sent out by Olivia at Studio Number One and was copied to Dan Flores of Obey Giant, Shepards right hand man.

The email is the real deal and if they are not involved you would think they would issue a statement to this site or Animal NY. I believ both attemped to contact with no reply.

What if Banksy ripped off Obey?
Would the outcome be different???.... hmmm....

I HAVE BEEN TOLD THIS IS ALL HYPE. I DO NOT BELIEVE THE LETTER IS REAL.

Fecal Face just got an email from Shepard Fairey slandering Baxter Orr. He verified that he did indeed send the cease and desist.

Shepard Fairey lets use of his work slide by all the time. Baxter has a history of being a douchbag, and his work is always half-assed. Would you let him use your work? I sure as hell wouldnt.

All 'art' is by, for, and about douchebags. Critics drink straight colostomy water. I only respect Frisco oneflow bushoppers. Even though most of their hands are wack. Shepard Fairey Inc. is a snake eating it's own tail. Look at all the 'art' on either side of my little remarks. Look at all those people. That's what they want you to do. Thats what we all want. We want to have are genitals approved of. I can't tell you how many times I've said "you have the most beautiful vagina I have ever seen". I have made so many women happy that way. But I like women. 'Artists' generally do not. Especially the women ones. Never cease or desist, and remember - the Game always wins.

Scraping Fecal off the Wheel-

I don't know what a "Frisco oneflow bushopper" is. Could you fill me in in that? I'm a bushopper I think. I mean I don't have a car right now so I take the bus and have been doing that for a while now.

I don't know how most artists feel about women. I do know I am an art student and at times I love women and at other times they make me sick. But I feel that way about people in general.

"All 'art' is by, for, and about douchebags. Critics drink straight colostomy water."

That is how I feel very often but not always. I think there are still some very genuine nice people in the art world. Some of them are my friends.

"Even though most of their hands are wack."

Again, not sure what you mean. I really wnat to understand but I'm not getting some of this.

Anyways, take care.

Aaron