Obama 'HOPE' poster artist pleads guilty [to criminal contempt]

AP via Yahoooooo! ^ | 2012-02-24 | Larry Neumeister

[justlurking]

The creator of the Barack Obama "HOPE" poster pleaded guilty Friday to criminal contempt, saying he made a "terrible decision" in 2009 to destroy some documents and fabricate others in a civil lawsuit pertaining to The Associated Press photograph he relied upon to make the poster.

Shepard Fairey entered the plea in federal court to the misdemeanor charge, which carries a maximum potential penalty of up to six months in prison. Sentencing was set for July 16.

The criminal case originated after the artist acknowledged he had fabricated information in a lawsuit he brought against the AP in February 2009. The lawsuit sought a court declaration that he did not violate AP's copyrights when he made the Obama image. The AP countersued, saying the uncredited, uncompensated use of its picture both violated copyright laws and was a threat to journalism.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement Friday that Fairey "went to extreme lengths to obtain an unfair and illegal advantage in his civil litigation, creating fake documents and destroying others in an effort to subvert the civil discovery process."

[justlurking]

Sorry about the typo in the title. I’ve asked a moderator to correct it.

[lightman]

So, how’s that hopey-changey thingy, Fairey?

[FourPeas]

I would expect nothing less from a follower of Barry.

[SueRae]

What goes around...

[17th Miss Regt]

"went to extreme lengths to obtain an unfair and illegal advantage in his civil litigation, creating fake documents and destroying others in an effort to subvert the civil discovery process."

Kinda like a forged birth certificate? Or several?

[SaraJohnson]

Thanks for the article.

This little lefty activist faked court documents and took extreme measures to defeat his enemy, AP, in court?

That is so unusual for the Political Party of Peace!/s/

[airborne]

I always preferred this version.

[af_vet_rr]

This little lefty activist faked court documents and took extreme measures to defeat his enemy, AP, in court?

And they are only his enemy because he chose to commit fraud and use their photo as the basis of his dopey, I mean hopey poster. Companies don't really like it when you take their pictures and then make a profit off of it. Imagine that.

[JoeProBono]

[<1/1,000,000th%]

Obama has criminals in his circle of associates???

[max americana]

Good news. Now he can draw for whomever makes him a bride in jail..

[piasa]

Look up his bundler Nemazee, currently serving time.

[JediJones]

And it’s not his first offense. After all, that promise of “hope” on the original poster turned out to be fraudulent, since the nation no longer has any.

The AP’s lawsuit was ridiculous in the first place though (they settled it out of court). It’s an incredibly generic picture of Obama, the AP doesn’t own the trademark to Obama, Obama had no objections to the picture, it is well within fair use by virtue of no longer actually being a photograph but being redrawn art, and even the original photographer of the photo had no problem with the artwork. It’s an example of corporate tyranny that has only gotten worse since Disney sued that preschool because the kids painted pictures of Mickey Mouse on it.

I can imagine it getting to the point where if some manufactured product appears in a picture someone sells, like a pair of jeans, that the manufacturer will eventually be suing photographers if they sell the photos without paying them a royalty. It’s hard to imagine that I can’t legally sell a painting of a public figure unless I meet them firsthand and take my own photo of them, because this case indicates that any photo or video that exists of that person is owned by someone else and cannot be used as the basis for a painting within the fair use doctrine. I guess that I can never commercially paint a picture of JFK because it’s physically impossible to take my own photo of him.

[MinuteGal]

"Shepard Fairey".....some things just can't be made up.

Leni

[Tainan]

The Continuing Adventures of Barry and the Fairey

[DTogo]

Fairey's repetative and talent-less neo-communist propaganda art is so easy to spot: contrasting basic colors often with sun ray type backgrounds eminating from/around the central theme.

[ETL]

Fairey's repetitive and talent-less neo-communist propaganda art is so easy to spot

________________________________________________________

From Shepard Fairey's official website (ObeyGiant.com):

Check it out! I got a thank you note from Barack Obama. If he is elected, maybe I have a get out of jail free card. All kidding aside, I’m honored to be acknowledged by someone so important to the future of our country. Also, the Obama campaign asked me to do a poster illustration for sale on their site. It should be out next week on barackobama.com.-Shepard
http://obeygiant.com/post/check-it-out
________________________________________________________

Here is the 'thank you' letter Barack Obama sent to Shepard Fairey:
"Dear Shepard, I would like to thank you for using your talent in support of my campaign. The political messages involved in your work have encouraged Americans to believe they can help change the status quo. Your images have a profound effect on people, whether seen in a gallery or on a stop sign. I am privileged to be a part of your artwork and proud to have your support. I wish you continued success and creativity.

Sincerely, Barack Obama.'"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/16/AR2008051601017.html
________________________________________________________

Other "artwork" by the commie Fairey...

by Shepard Fairey

http://www.duckywaddles.com/Scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=744
________________________________________________________

"Stalin Lenin", Shepard Fairey,
limited edition silkscreen, signed
and numbered. 18"X24" *SOLD OUT*
Source: http://www.duckywaddles.com/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=429
________________________________________________________

"Bush Hell" by Shepard Fairey

Source:
http://www.thegiant.org/wiki/index.php/Special:Search?search=bush&fulltext=Search

[ETL]

[ETL]

Portrait of Angela Davis by Obama's "Hope" and "Change" icon artist Shepard Fairey:

Angela Davis

Source:
Angela Davis by Obey Giant, Shepard Fairey:
http://www.zimbio.com/Shepard+Fairey/articles/63/Angela+Davis+Obey+Giant+Shepard+Fairey
____________________________________________

From David Horowitz's FrontPageMag.com/DiscoverTheNetworks.org:
PROFILE: ANGELA DAVIS

* Communist professor at the University of California’s Santa Cruz campus
* Recipient of the Lenin “Peace Prize” from the police state of East Germany in 1979
* Provided an arsenal of weapons to Black Panthers who used them to kill a Marin Country judge in a failed attempt to free Davis' imprisoned lover, Black Panther murderer George Jackson
* Icon of the campus Left and frequent guest speaker at anti-war rallies
* Leader of a movement to free all criminals who are minorities claiming that they are political prisoners of the racist United States
* “The only path of liberation for black people is that which leads toward complete and radical overthrow of the capitalist class.”

Angela Yvonne Davis is a tenured professor in the “History of Consciousness” program at the University of California - Santa Cruz. A former member of the Black Panther Party, she is currently a “University Professor,” one of only seven in the entire California University system, which entitles her to a six-figure salary and a research assistant. This income is supplemented by speaking fees ranging from $10,000 to $20,000 per appearance on college campuses, where she is an icon of radical faculty, administrators, and students. Davis has also taught at UCLA and the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/individualProfile.asp?indid=1303