On his latest deviation "Andre Is Gey," my friend & fellow deviant
posted a link to an article sharply criticizing Shepard Fairey and his art.
"Andre is Gey" -
The article about Shep Fairey -
[link]I got halfway through the article before I had to start writing.
"Obey Giant" is a relatively lame piece in and of itself, but that article is obviously a hype piece. Fairey's plagiarism is so blatant that it's obvious he isn't ashamed of it; in fact, it has become his trademark. "Street art" used to be "graffiti," and when done right, graffiti is usually illegal. It might be that illegally fucking up somebody's wall & then running like hell is the only way an "artist" can get away with outright plagiarism. Artists are notorious for protecting their "freedom to express themselves." What then if an "artist" feels the need to "express himself" by being an asshole & taking somebody else's shit, fucking it up and posting it everywhere on God's green earth? How many "street artists" are really just asshole fuckwads who feel the need to rub our noses in our own inability to protect our property? Most of them, that's how many! What Shep Fairey is doing is actually well in line with "street art" or "graffiti," since it is an entire genre that exists outside of the boundaries and rules of society and it often pokes fun at those who are trapped within those societal boundaries. It was when Fairey crossed the line and began commercializing his plagiarized artwork that he began to run into problems. Can you really blame the guy, though? He created something out of meaningless propaganda, and the more shit people give him about it, the more shit he sells! I'm not going to buy anything from him and if he were stealing my artwork I'd sue him too, especially if he made a lot of money from it! BUT... I still say more power to him. As long as his business model is in line with the formula
Sales - cost of production - legal defense = profit
he'd be an idiot to stop doing what he's doing.
Plagiarize for profit? You might get sued. Plagiarize, illegally display it and then run like hell? Everybody will laugh except the guy who has to clean the wall! I think the hilarity of Gosteoner's "Andre is Gey," technically a plagiarism itself, proves exactly that point.
I'm amazed nobody else has ever thought to change posse to pussy. It's so god damned brilliant that I will be hanging it on my wall this afternoon. As for Mr. Shepard, I'm sure he's laughing all the way to the bank.
`anmari has been spreading her infectious positivity throughout our community for over 6 years. Throughout this time Ana has been at the core of all things devious, passionately developing an eclectic gallery, helping organise devmeets, participating in chat events and also recently completed dedicating her time as a Community Volunteer. We are absolutely delighted to bestow the Deviousness Award for May 2013 to `anmari, congratulations! Read More
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this journal 
Total prizes reach 1000 
But of course there are always the rules......
Please please please fave the journal!
Make another journal about this giveaway and provide a link of that journal in the comments (this will help spread the word about this giveaway)
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Neutral 
The style of Art Nouveau was destroyed because of rapidly commercialized in trivial mass-production.
History always repeats it self at some point in time.
Respect will always live longer than any amount of money made. When respect is lost, then in this circumstance you would think, money is lost.
[link]
All I have to say is that it makes me disgusted to see all these REAL artists, and street artists who bother to make beautiful work that only get a percent of the attention that Shepherd Fairy gets. It's sad, really.
PS. It offered to let me attach a drawing and I couldn't resist. I'm wearing wrist braces and only using a track pad, so this is all you get.
deviantART muro drawing
It's testimony to the power of repetition that Fairey has achieved the level of recognition that he has. At this point it matters very little whether or not he deserves the respect of his peers.
LINK ME TO THOSE DAMNED SPIDER STICKERS, DUDE!