OBEY Plagarism?

I was sent an email about the recent taggings at Studio 1 and their subsequent removal. What was interesting was this post from Eastsider LA about Shepard Fairey, then Shepard’s response. That led me to read about this interesting and well-researched article about Shepard, OBEY, and its interpreted artistic plagiarism. Now, I am not posting this to set off the sirens at OBEY or piss off the people that work there. While I find the Eastsider blog post more of cheap shot at Fairey and really unsubstantial, the Art for A Change article was really well-written. I’m posting the article so that art fans can read it and come up with their own conclusions. I personally believe that Shepard things out his work and much like a hip-hop producer that samples, finds the best in something and tries to recreate and reinvigorate that emotion through their own means. Some producers are great at it and do some with a respect for the previous work and some are great at it w/o ever researching the history. I think Fairey falls into both categories depending on the piece. I ask, does Primo or Kanye know the history of every song they chop? Does Pete Rock know the emotional background of every break or horn he uses? My speculation is no but that doesn’t mean they were completely ignorant to the sample either. I am interested in hearing your thoughts after the read. Again, no shots here. Just challenging and spreading the knowledge.

Obey Plagiarist Shepard Fairey – Art For Change article