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Shepard Fairey arrested


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From CNN: http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/18662913/detail.html

BOSTON -- The controversial street artist who gained fame with his red, white and blue posters of President Barack Obama was arrested in Boston Friday night, Boston police said.

Shepard Fairey, 38, was arrested on two outstanding warrants as he was about to enter an exhibition of his work at the Institute of Contemporary Art. Fairey was charged with damage to property for having painted two Boston area locations with graffiti, spokesman James Kenneally said.

Fairey told the Los Angeles Times last year that his "Obey Giant" street art campaign had led to his arrest many times.

Boston police said he had painted his "Andre The Giant" graffiti near an entrance to the Massachusetts Turpike and the Boston University bridge across the Charles River.

Fairey’s image of Obama was everywhere during last year's presidential campaign: on buttons, posters and Web sites. It shows a pensive Obama looking upward, with the caption HOPE.

The image has led to sales of hundreds of thousands of posters and stickers, and has become so much in demand that copies signed by Fairey have been purchased for thousands of dollars on eBay.

The Associated Press, which claims the art is based on a photograph taken by one of its photographers, has alleged copyright infringement and wants credit and compensation.

“We have reached out to Mr. Fairey's attorney and are in discussions. We hope for an amicable solution." said Paul Colford, AP's director of media relations.

The image, Fairey has acknowledged, is based on an Associated Press photograph, taken in April 2006 by Mannie Garcia on assignment for the AP at the National Press Club in Washington.

"We believe fair use protects Shepard's right to do what he did here," Fairey's lawyer, Anthony Falzone, told the Associated Press.

The image was used by Time magazine on its cover when it named Obama its "Person Of The Year."

Fairey was supposed to appear as a guest disc jockey for the kickoff of his exhibit, "Supply and Demand," at the museum when he was arrested.

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