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Detroit Police Target Street Artist Shepard Fairey

One would think the blighted city had better things to do than charge artists with felonies.

Shepard Fairey is a 21st Century Renaissance man, a modern-day Leonardo or Diego Rivera. He DJs, he has a clothing line, and he designed a red and blue poster with Barack Obama's face on it you might have seen before. He's even besties with Z-Trip (who played three nights at EDC this year). Among his many talents is that of being a street artist. Last month, Fairey and his crew went to Detroit to paint a mural on a building near Campus Martius Park as part of the city's attempt to revitalize itself. The work was commissioned by a realtor and though it is on private property, is very much a public work of art, in full view of passersby.

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A view of Fairey's commissioned work from above.

While in town, Fairey followed through on a plan he had previously shared with the Detroit Free Press, to post his works on other buildings, admittedly without a permit. This unsanctioned act of art-ing has raised the ire of a police department who has apparently grown tired of contending with more typical urban blight like violent crime.

Example of Fairey's "vandalism" in Detroit. Source.

"Just because he is a well-known artist does not take away the fact that he is also a vandal," Police Sergeant and killjoy Rebecca McKay told the Free Press, going on to call Fairey's poster posting "vandalism."

Fairey on scaffolding at Campus Martius building in Detroit.

While Fairey is said to have posted around 14 works of art on building around town, Detroit Police could only contact nine building owners and convince them to press charges. It is not clear if any of the building-owners contacted police on their own or if this was a matter that an overzealous and art-hating police department created on their own. The estimated damages are reportedly around $9000. If Fairey does not pay this fine, he will be arrested the next time he travels to Detroit for two counts of malicious destruction of property. The maximum prison sentence for these charges is five years.

Fairey's work is currently on display in the Library Street Collective gallery in Detroit, which documented his recent visit to the city.

If you would like to tell the judges of Michigan's 36th District Court to leave artists alone, their contact info can be found here.

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