At times it is helpful to review the definitions of words to clarify their meaning as it pertains to a current issue. Let us recall.
Plagiarism as defined by Merriam-Webster.
to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one’s own, use (another’s production) without crediting the source
to commit literary theft, present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source
Now let’s take a look at Shepard Fairey, the proud native South Carolina artist now Los Angeles based, responsible for transforming a poster of Barack Obama into one of the most commercially successful and identifiable images of Obama associated with the 2008 election. Posters, stickers, and T-shirts emblazoned with the image that was purposely designed to go viral on the internet continue as hot sellers. So much that the Smithsonian‘s National Portrait Gallery in Washington put Fairey’s portrait on permanent display.
Image courtesy of http://face2face.si.edu/my_weblog/2009/01/now-on-view-portrait-of-barack-obama-by-shepard-fairey.html.
