Obey: Plagiarism

[8ballrollin]

TD, thought you might find this review interesting. I know you've used Fairey in your avatars.

"The expropriation and reuse of images in art has today reached soaring heights, but that relentless mining and distortion of history will turn out to be detrimental for art, leaving it hollowed-out and meaningless in the process. When I refer to "mining" in this case I mean the hasty examination and extraction of information from our collective past as performed by individuals who do not fully comprehend it. That is precisely what Fairey is guilty of, utilizing historic images simply because he "likes" them, and not because he has any grasp of their significance as objects of art or history. In 1916 Henry Ford, the famous American multimillionaire, bigot, and founder of the Ford Motor Company, uttered the infamous words, "History is Bunk." That once outrageous statement has now become part and parcel of postmodern art, as reflected in Fairey’s own negligence regarding history."

http://www.art-for-a-change.com/Obey/index.htm

I don't think it's fair to say Fairey does not "fully comprehend" the history of the art he borrows - who can know. But the rest is an interesting review of the source art.

[TripletDaddy]

Originally Posted by 8ballrollin

TD, thought you might find this review interesting. I know you've used Fairey in your avatars.

"The expropriation and reuse of images in art has today reached soaring heights, but that relentless mining and distortion of history will turn out to be detrimental for art, leaving it hollowed-out and meaningless in the process. When I refer to "mining" in this case I mean the hasty examination and extraction of information from our collective past as performed by individuals who do not fully comprehend it. That is precisely what Fairey is guilty of, utilizing historic images simply because he "likes" them, and not because he has any grasp of their significance as objects of art or history. In 1916 Henry Ford, the famous American multimillionaire, bigot, and founder of the Ford Motor Company, uttered the infamous words, "History is Bunk." That once outrageous statement has now become part and parcel of postmodern art, as reflected in Fairey’s own negligence regarding history."

http://www.art-for-a-change.com/Obey/index.htm

I don't think it's fair to say Fairey does not "fully comprehend" the history of the art he borrows - who can know. But the rest is an interesting review of the source art.

Thanks for the link.

Yes, I actually love Obey. I think Fairey is pretty cool. I have a few Obey shirts, although most are the Andre the Giant has a Posse variety. As you know, Obey is pretty prevalent in skate and surf culture.

As for Fairey, this article is humorous in that it purports to reveal that Fairey uses well-known images. Hasnt this always been his approach?

The whole concept of "Obey" and "ATGHAP" is not an anti-corporate movement, but an anti-propaganda movement. Fairey's position is that art, just like advertising, is a form of propaganda that influences us to act. It is precisely his out-of-context melding of existing images with the slogan "Obey" that I find interesting.

I dont see it as any different than Warhol using Soup or Marilyn.

I have been to a Fairey show in LA and it was really interesting. Also, the Obey factory is here in OC and there are sample sales every so often.

The one thing Fairey does acknowledge is the inherent hypocrisy in his Obey campaign as an anti-propagandist movement.