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In this article called Shepard Fairey Is Fined and Sentenced to Probation in ‘Hope’ Poster Case by Randy Kennedy is about Shepard Fairey, the artist behind the iconic Hope poster of Barack Obama, was sentenced to two years of probation and fined $25,000 after pleading guilty to charges of documents related to the creation of the image. Fairey’s use of a photo of Obama was taken by Associated Press photographer Manny Garcia, which he had manipulated into his now-famous poster. Fairey had claimed to have used a different photo as the source for the artwork, but during legal proceedings, it was revealed that he had lied about the origins of the image. The case raised questions about copyright, artistic freedom, and photography and art.
Based on what I read in this article, my opinion is that I think the arguments and outcome of the Fairey copyright case were reasonable. While the Hope poster became so powerful during the Obama campaign, it didn’t excuse the fact that Shepard Fairey used a photograph by Manny Garcia without permission or credit. His attempt to cover this up by documents only made matters worse. Even though the poster had cultural impact, the legal system had to hold him to protect the rights of the original photographer. The fines were a fair consequence, reminding us that creative freedom doesn’t mean bypassing copyright laws.
Citations & References
Miller, S. (2012, September 7). Shepard Fairey is fined and sentenced to probation in ‘Hope’ poster case. The New York Times. https://archive.nytimes.com/artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/07/shephard-fairey-is-fined-and-sentenced-to-probation-in-hope-poster-case/