Shepard Fairey, a street artist, and Christy Maclear, executive director of the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, talk about the inaugural year of the 'Artist as Activist' print project launched by the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation benefiting the Coalition for the Homeless.
Comments [9]
Yes, this is that Ferry! It's funny--I tuned in not knowing this was Shephard Ferry at first, but at the very point where all the guest (Ferry, as I know know) was engaging in a huge amount bizarre bending-over-backward to try to appropriate, and situate himself with regard to, the idea of legitimate appropriation in art. I thought to myself, why is this over-the-top-ness going on? Can this be Shephard Ferry? The mega-defensive posturing suggested as much--and bingo it's him. Using the very different situation of artists like Rauschenberg and DuChamp to try to retroactively cover over and justify what Ferry did is absolutely execreable. Ferry is the person who stole the image he used for his well-known Obama image, submitting it even though the rules of the campaign said such stolen images shouldn't be used--then when confronted about it he said he hadn't taken the image from anywhere else, then when faced with no other choice he admitted he had! Clearly some big players have decided there's more money and/or power to be made from aligning themselves with Ferry than from ignoring him or being honest about what he did. Just heard the comment "there's also the fine art piece that's for sale" from Ferry. Right. "Who else were you influenced by, Shehard?" Brian asks. Hmmm... Wall Street? "Artist and activist" my *^&(*&(^& !
Do the artists have any comments on the fact that much of the money going into buying art comes from the very rich, IE the Wall Street crowd et al?
Also many of the people going into fields like art can only afford this because their parents have benefited from the capitalist economy. For example, Shepard's mother was a real estate agent, so likely profited from the bubble.
Also how different is the artist? They appropriate from other artists when it suits them for their own work, and then on the flip side want to protect with litigation their own work. Aren't they just treating it like a business too?
Regan with a corporate influence for sale sign?
Why don't you ask Shepard Fairey about Obama's ties to Wall St?
Always so easy to pick on the Republicans, but WNYC wouldn't dare attack the Democrats. Media bias at its best.
Fairey's work is uninspired. If it weren't for other people (Andre the Giant, Regan, Obama) he would have nothing to work with. Real artists create something out of nothing.
Art stopped the Nazis, long enough for them to steal it. This is a nonsense concept. Equal force stops conflict.
Can you post some of the posters that are being made and discussed on the show?
Did Shepard Fairey create the 'OYVEY' stickers with the picture of Mayor Bloomberg? Or was that another fair-use riff on his Giant image? Either way -- brilliant!
Urgh, didn't he steal to Obama concept from another "artist" a photographer?
See Peter Fend, OEDC, for artist who really has constructive world changes.
Currently at WhiteBox
Much more than posters
Shepard Fairey is not really an artist, but a graphic designer who is good at appropriating other peoples images.
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