I spent all day yesterday trying to get this new “Obey Elephant” print from Shepard Fairey’s website. He only released a limited number (450) and did so at a random point during the day. Maybe it was my lack of persistence or maybe it’s simply Fairey’s fault for not releasing enough prints of his work. I understand the basic, fundamental urge for him to stay fresh and on the edge by limiting his number of prints, but by doing so he’s creating a negative reaction. Does the guy not care about making money? I think he’s inherently more selfless than that, which is something to be greatly admired in any walk of life, especially the art world. Take what he did during the Obama campaign for instance. He created an image that exploded throughout the globe and accidentally (or purposefully) sparked the pop culturization of a president who rode that wave all the way to the White House. He raised upwards of $400,000 dollars for Obama and what does he get? A lawsuit by the AP for wrongfully using one of its images. If he looses that case then there is no justice. I think Obama owes him the courtesy of telling the AP to back off. I don’t know if his presidental powers include the ability to do something like that, probably not, but presidents have stretched those powers to do much worse, so why not? Anyway I digress. When I woke up this morning the first thing I did was check ebay for pirated prints of the “Obey Elephant.” By pirated I don’t mean knock off; what I mean is people who were lucky enough to snatch one of those prints yesterday are now attempting to flip them for a substantial profit online. Twelve different people have posted the print for 10 to 15 times the generous price Fairey sold it for on his website. Maybe this is just market forces at its finest, or worst, but it doesn’t sit well with me. People are exploiting Fairey and making a profit off art that is as far from their own personal creation as possible. I suppose this is the same as anyone buying anything that’s limited edition and feeling obligated–due to personal financial issues, or simply because they can–to try and sell it for more than they paid. Maybe they got two, but they definitely wasted the time of other people who truly wanted this piece. I’m not bitter, although it might seem that way. I just feel like this is an unfortunate circumstance that needs to be discussed. Shepard Fairey is obviously a smart businessman so I doubt this would bother him too much or he would fix it. Either way I hope he keeps pushing the boundaries of art without selling out too much (Saks). Thanks, Shepard, for doing what you do.