Fairey Admits He Lied

About the Author

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Steven Heller is the cofounder and the cochair of the MFA Designer as Author program at the School of Visual Arts. He writes the Visuals column for the New York Times Book Review and the Graphic Content blog for T-Style; is editor of AIGA Voice; and is a contributor to Design Observer. He is the author, coauthor, and/or editor of more than 120 books on design and popular culture, including the forthcoming New Ornamental Type (Thames and Hudson). More information can be found at his homepage.

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Fairey Admits He Lied

by Steven Heller

I received this e-mail from Shepard Fairey's studio on Friday night:

STATEMENT BY SHEPARD FAIREY ON ASSOCIATED PRESS FAIR USE CASE OCTOBER 16, 2009

In an effort to keep everyone up to date on my legal battle to uphold the principle of fair use in copyright laws, I wanted to notify you of a recent development in my case against The Associated Press (AP).

On October 9, 2009, my lawyers sent a letter to the AP and to the photographer Mannie Garcia, through their lawyers, notifying them that I intend to amend my court pleadings. Throughout the case, there has been a question as to which Mannie Garcia photo I used as a reference to design the HOPE image. The AP claimed it was one photo, and I claimed it was another. The new filings state for the record that the AP is correct about which photo I used as a reference and that I was mistaken. While I initially believed that the photo I referenced was a different one, I discovered early on in the case that I was wrong.

In an attempt to conceal my mistake I submitted false images and deleted other images. I sincerely apologize for my lapse in judgment and I take full responsibility for my actions which were mine alone. I am taking every step to correct the information and I regret I did not come forward sooner.

I am very sorry to have hurt and disappointed colleagues, friends, and family who have supported me in this difficult case and trying time in my life. I am also sorry because my actions may distract from what should be the real focus of my case – the right to fair use so that all artists can create freely. Regardless of which of the two images was used, the fair use issue should be the same.

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Reader Comments

I have more of a problem with Fairey lying about this since the beginning than I do about his using the photograph as a reference. Throughout the history of the arts, painters, sculptors, photographers and even musical composers have appropriated existing art and themes. Is what Fairey did any different than composers creating music "based on a theme of" or the Dadaists and their "found art"? Not really. However, in their cases they were blatantly open about their theft and appropriations. Now Fairey is a joke and the scuttlebutt around the internet will only fuel the fires of the "Teabaggers" and conservative right, who will use this as a reference to their problems with the Obama administration.

By designr66 October 19, 2009

Sorry designr66, although we agree that Fairey is a joke (something which I have believed ever since the election) the myriad problems we on the conservative right have with this president go far beyond the antics of some hack left-wing artist. Fairey will soon become an insignificant footnote and quickly fade into art history, but the reckless actions of our "transparent" president have buried future generations in a staggering mountain of debt they can never recover from.

By jimincoto October 20, 2009

Hey manusdesign, did I say I was a fan of Bush? Don't get me wrong, I definitely had my share of issues with "Georgie," as you call him, when he was at the helm, but this is certainly not the time nor the place to delve into them. And you are correct, Dubya came into office with a $128 billion surplus. Having said that, I am more than willing to stack up Bush's "mountain of debt" after 8 years with BO's spending-like-a-drunken-sailor-mentality during a mere nine months in office. Let me get this straight, using your skewed and distorted left-wing logic, the way to get out of debt is to, naturally, pile on even more debt, am I right? But don't take my word for it; according to the Heritage Foundation, Bush presided over a $2.5 trillion increase in the public debt through 2008. Not good, but setting aside 2009 (for which he and Obama share responsibility for an additional $2.6 trillion in public debt), Obama’s budget will ADD nearly 5 TRILLION in public debt, states the Foundation, from the beginning of 2010 through 2016. The nonpartisan Office of Management and Budget shows similar staggering numbers. Who's got the bigger manure pile now, pal? So, before you start pointing your high-and-mighty righteous finger at us conservatives, manusdesign, get your facts and figures straight. When the sun, thankfully, settles on this woefully pathetic administration after four years of rampant, behind-closed-doors Democratic spending, you folks on the liberal left are the ones who are going to have much, much more to answer for. Oh, and you'd better keep your wallet open too, while you're at it.

By jimincoto October 21, 2009

oh there there. The economic crisis facing the country when Obama took office was frightening. There were no good answers for dealing with it. The banks had to be saved, and some sense of confidence in the market had to be restored, being active is better than doing nothing. And the market is in much better shape in this short period of time. Nobody is happy with the debt we're facing but there are few conservatives/Republicans offering useful suggestions for dealing with the mess, they don't acknowledge any responsibility nor do they try to fix it. The MO is to whine, wring their hands, create hysteria and hide behind people like Limbaugh and Beck. But this is really not the forum for discussions of this kind.

By manusdesign1 November 02, 2009

For more information about Fairey's recent admission go to UNBEIGE.com: http://www.mediabistro.com/unbeige/news/what_led_shepard_fairey_to_change_his_story_140866.asp#more

By Steven Heller October 21, 2009

Your logic boggles me, manusdesign. Let’s see now...BO comes into office having to deal with an economic crisis of monumental proportions (due greatly to a Democratically-controlled Congress, by the way). The too-big-to-fail banks (thank you Barney Frank, Chris Dodd) and auto companies come crawling on their knees to the Oval Office, begging for a handout, and your so-called solution is to bury us under such staggering debt we will never be able to dig ourselves out? How can you say with a straight face the market is in “much” better shape? Oh really? Admit it, "your” stimulus plan is a total bust, pal. Just how many jobs have those billions of dollars created? 30,000?...maybe? And just wait until BO's cap and trade kicks in. What audacity to say Conservatives are offering few “useful suggestions for dealing with the mess” and are not “trying to fix it.” Could it be their “whining, hand-wringing and hysteria-creating” has something to do with your “transparent” president as well as Pelosi, Reid and their fellow Democratic merry henchmen in Congress excluding and ignoring Republicans and their attempts at offering sane, constructive ideas? What's the secret password to get into all those secret, closed and guarded door deliberations? And as for Limbaugh and Beck, I’ll gladly take them any day over those butt-kissing, rah-rah cheerleading sycophants, Maddow and Olbermann.

By jimincoto November 03, 2009

Sorry jimincoto but your friend Georgie the Bush finished his 2nd term leaving the country in the mountain of debt after beginning his first term with a surplus. You on the conservative right have much to answer for.

By manusdesign October 21, 2009