All this fuss about Shepard Fairey & copyright infringement & gay rights or marriage or whatever. Personally (yup, here comes the opinion) I think he crossed the line with the Obama photo. That photo was just a little too new to be appropriated, reworked & redistributed as an "original" poster. Not that this makes him particularly evil, appropriating imagery has been a staple of artists (poster & otherwise) for a long time. Some of the best loved art for the Grateful Dead done by Mouse & Kelly (their famous "Skull & Roses" poster) was a direct steal of Edmund J Sullivan's illustration in the "Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam". Then there is the use of style- most of the 60's psychedelia borrows from art nouveau. The flying scarab on a handful of CD covers for Journey is a direct reference from ancient Egyptian art (you don't hear the pharaohs complaining, do you?).

My point- appropriation of imagery has been around for a long time, so I'm not sure why Fairey (& by association here, dA) deserves quite the venomous response he's (they're) receiving. Is it the gay thing?

Two people meet, fall in love, & decide to commit to one another. Ah, romantical, yes? Wouldn't we all like that, or a little of that, in our lives- someone we could trust, rely on, & if we're tremendously lucky, love & if we're super-duper lucky, they make our toes curl? So, if it's a boy meets boy, or girl meets girl scenario, what, really, is so different? I think in this day & age if you find love at all, count your straight or gay blessings. Religious extremists, of course, have their conservative granny panties all in a twist- ever notice that as you move toward the extreme in any religion they all start to sound the same? And, ever notice that what comes out of their mouths is not compassion (oh, poor sinners...you really need to repent or you have a very uncomfortable after life in your future...when you're ready, come join us & we can all be redeemed together), but hatred. I find it more than a little disturbing that so-called Christians & folks like the Taliban are so quick & willing to pick up a stone (or, if you're Taliban, a Kalashnikov or an IED).

And did some one really say gays are more likely to rape? What hateful ass did that twisted factoid get pulled out of?

Note to self:
"You have a natural talent for disaster. Try to improve yourself into an ordinary failure by keeping your mouth shut." Capt. "Gentleman" Brown (James Mason) "Lord Jim"