OBEY! No One

People who know me know that I loathe the OBEY! company and everything Shepard Fairey pretends to stand for. The simple reason for this is because he's a thief. He steals art--be it meaningful or not--and regurgitates it into pop drivel. You can argue with me about it if you really want to, but I stand firm in my belief that you shouldn't be able to misappropriate historical imagery, appropriate copyrighted imagery, copyright a single word ("obey") and then go crazy suing companies that are doing exactly the same thing to you. Off the record, and in complete confidence, I just think he's a whiny bitch who has entitlement issues and a white superiority complex. Not that my personal opinion really matters, though.

I was working on an article about Fairey, which was ultimately supposed to be an explanatory piece that would hopefully (Can I use the word "HOPE" without infringing? YIKES!) lead my audience to consider for themselves whether or not they believe Fairey to be a proverbial sheister. After numerous attempts to contact the OBEY! company, they finally got back to me regarding my initial query: Does Fairey cite his sources anywhere?

Their answer: Buy the book.

His book, full of borrowed art, faux-pithy sayings and misrepresented socio-political imagery is about $60. Fat chance.

I am really quite tempted to photocopy a borrowed issue, highlight a few sections, staple it together and sell it on my website. It's tempting, until I think about how quickly this guy will turn around and sue me. Just like he's doing to Steelerbaby.

Please, join my crusade against Fairey and buy some Steelerbaby merch.

I hate the Steelers, as I am both a Philadelphian and not a football fan. Despite this, I shall buy a shirt to support the real "grassroots" artists and superfans who are being abused by a gluttonous, ego-centric, monster capitalist. I also happen to collect Kewpie dolls, so it's just a nice fit.

Yeah, capitalism usually doesn't bother me, but this type of abuse burns me up. Read more about Fairey's art crimes (my emphasis) here: Obey Plagiarist Shepard Fairey.

Also, he got blasted by the ASSOCIATE PRESS!

I know I'm just one, little, mostly-insignificant person, but I support local arts and artists and I don't want someone like Fairey reaping benefits that he should be sharing. I also, dare I say, think most of the OBEY! stuff is kind of dumb and emo looking. But, as I conceded, my opinion really doesn't matter.

Want to see some good, local, wearable art? Check out the artists at Space 1026, Magic Outlaw, Vox Populi, Art in the Age and Topstitch.