Hasta La Ideas

Yesterday we told you that Frank Gehry was having something of a never-ending rough time lately, but it takes two to tango, so it’s time to add another design celebrity to this roster of rough patches. It’s Shepard Fairey we’re tacking on for two reasons. First, following his arrest months ago in Boston, the artist (note: someone needs to invent a “starchitect” term for famous street artists) has plead guilty to the vandalism charges which were the reason for the initial arrest. As punishment, he received probation, a $2,000 fine, and a promise never to bring “tagging equipment” into the county he did the offending public artwork on private property in. And next for Fairey comes the news that photographer Mannie Garcia has filed in court a motion to jump on to the Associated Press‘ lawsuit against the artist for his now iconic Obama poster. You’ll recall the the AP went after Fairey for his use of one of their photos in the print, and now, because it was Garcia who took that photo, he wants in too. This, of course, only adds more confusion to an already messy series of suits and counter suits, as the photographer and the news service aren’t agreeing on who retained the original rights to the photo. This, undoubtedly, will draw the process out even further, probably costing Fairey a few bucks more in lawyer’s fees than the $2,000 check he has to write to Suffolk County.