Over the past few years, controversy has arose about the originality of Shepard Fairey’s work and whether he has intentionally plagiarised peer street wear brands without crediting the artists from who he drew his inspiration, thus questioning the validity of Shepard Fairey’s designs. Such accusations are documented on youthoughtwewouldntnotice.com, a popular website inside the street wear community which offers a platform to expose plagiarism within the industry. More recently, in an interview with Mat Gleason, publisher of Coagula Art Journal and exhibition director at Gallery C in Hermosa Beach, California, this question of validity is brought up as the main theme of discussion. Gleason explains why, from a professional art critic’s point of view, Shepard Fairey is not considered to be an artist, but rather a businessman “promoting the brand of Shepard Fairey as a corporate identity”. Gleason compares the Obey campaign to the Coca-Cola campaign, in which both are similar by the fact that “they are both on the streets, they are both promoting a brand and at the end of the day it’s a very empty experience”. Gleason’s conclusion that Shepard Fairey is the antithesis of the original graffiti artist is supported by his theory that “the original street artists that Shepard Fairey emulates have nothing to do with the same concerns”, which are to create by necessity and urgency rather than by commercial motivation.

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