The following is a blog post by Tricia Atkinson and my comments on her post below.
Tricia's Post: Week 1 Post 4: General Reflection on Copyright: Shepard Fairey
Since there is not a specific project this week, I have decided to reflect a little bit about my work with students about Shepard Fairey. I did him for my Artist of the Week presentation, which usually entails a PowerPoint, video(s), or website that goes over the body of work and life of the artist. Students take a few notes and then we have a class discussion. The students reacted a lot to his work and the story about the lawsuit. Some students loved his work, the boldness and modern "graphic-y" look. They recognized some images from popular culture such as the Obey campaign, and of course, the Obama poster, as well as one of the other images of the guns and roses, which apparently, one of my students has as a tattoo (which brought up a whole new conversation about copyright and tattoos--one student mentioning that Hangover2 is getting sued over a Mike Tyson tattoo?). Some students thought his work was repetitive, narrow, and didn't take as much talent because it was made on a computer.
The issue of the lawsuit inspired quite a debate, varying greatly between my sections but always 2-sided. Some students said that he should have given the photographer credit. Some said if its on the internet, its easy to get, and therefore up for grabs. Some said he changed it so much that it shouldn't matter. Some said he didn't have any other choice 'cause he doesn't have a press pass to get a photograph. Some said Obama is such a figure-head, and in a political campaign, so his photographs should be fair use. Most agreed that Shepard should have at least given Garcia credit. I really enjoyed getting the kids talking about the issue and broadening their minds to the idea of credit and fair use. The more they realize the details of both sides, the more they will understand how these same issues effect their own lives.
My Comments to Tricia:
Tricia, First of all, I commend you for covering this topic with your students. Spending the last, almost a year, working side by side with you in the EMDT program has really opened my eyes and redefined my vision of education in America today. I took art in middle school because it was required, but never took it up again. I do love looking and I have a few small pieces that I have collected, but my perspective on art in education was antiquated and narrow. Now when I hear people talking about possible budget cuts and eliminating some of the elective courses such as art, I find myself extremely animated in my defense of the arts.
The issues regarding copyright and fair use are all around us. Truth be known, the application of art in our society is probably far more significant to our young people than the applications of the quadratic equation that I covered with my students today. Students should be made aware of the implications of "borrowing" someone else's work or even someone else's ideas. It isn't right. I remember a few years ago, when I was working in real estate, I had my own "Shepard Fairey" moment. I may not be the budding artist, but when it came to photographing a home, I had it down to an art. Way ahead of other Realtors, I used wide-angle digital photography and enhanced my photos in Photoshop, using captions. Occasionally, despite my best efforts, one of my listings did not sell and the owner listed with another agent. Imagine how angry I was, when I found my pictures in the new listing. If I had known then, what I know now.
Good work Tricia; keep up the good work.
Image Attribute:
By Shepard_Fairey.jpg: Cliff from I now live in Arlington, VA (Outside Washington DC), USA
2009 derivative work: Davidowenmorgan (Shepard_Fairey.jpg) [CC-BY-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Link to this image on Wikimedia Commons
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