Made public Friday through comments made on his website, Shepard Fairey admitted to destroying evidence and creating false documents to conceal the original photo used to create the “Hope” and “Progress” posters popularized during the Obama campaign. Fairey apologized for his “lapse in judgment” and took full responsibility for his actions, which he said were his alone. He has since been dropped by his legal council, which will officially step down once new council can be obtained. It seems Shep will still pursue his case against the AP, in which he contends he has the right to fair use of the image as it was fundamentally transformed from it’s original state. While he “regrets not coming forward sooner,” Fairey’s case against the AP will be severely impacted by this new development, especially considering the loss of his legal team.

-Via New York Times

We don’t generally post about political topics, but today we’re making an exception. After weeks of watching news clips of people in town hall meetings scream at each other about killing Grandma (Obama Death Panel is an awesome band name by the way, thanks @maxmarginal), we FINALLY got some info from the white house that makes a sensible argument for healthcare reform a http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/
On a side note, from a design/communication perspective, this site is PERFECT. All the information is quick to scan through and super easy to share. If you want an amazing example of how to communicate your message on the internet, there aren’t many sites that do it better than this.

With Obama finally in office and all the coverage we’ve given Shepard Fairey on his posters, we had to laugh when we saw Obamiconme. Now you can upload anything you picture you want and create a Obama style poster. If you can deliver a message of change and hope inspiring the entire county, you can also run for president.

One small step for man kind, one giant leap for Shepard Fairey. The Smithsonian Institute announced last week that the original mixed media collage would be added to the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery and placed on view to the public by inauguration day. While this may not be the official portrait of Obama, which will be added to the NPG at a later date, it is by far the most iconic. With this piece Shepard has successfully broken into two new territories, national politics and the political landscape of the art world. Neither camp is releasing the price tag on the original piece at this time. Shepard has also released a poster in honor of the inauguration which is available signed for $500 and unsigned for $100.

In the midst of all of this excitement, Shepard is still hard at work with a new show opening Feb 6th 2009. Marking the 20th anniversary of the Obey Giant campaign the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston has put together first museum survey of the artist, Shepard Fairey: Supply and Demand. The 20 year retrospective will include stencils, posters, and the stickers the artist used to in his early days in addition to limited edition prints exclusively available at the show. More info here.

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Our Friends at Filter and Apartment 3 are throwing what looks to be a kick ass befit for the Obama campaign this Saturday night from 7-11pm. We caught a sample sale this group did last year (minus the art show and DJ’s) at the Beauty Bar and scored two designer jackets, a tshirt and a wallet for $80. The art and DJ’s are certainly a bonus, and since People Food is on the flier maybe we’ll be lucky enough to catch a set. $10 donation goes to the Obama campaign but like most Filter events YOU MUST RSVP!