Fairey good decision as Shep shleps to Boston for plea deal

Shepard Fairey pleaded guilty today to three counts of defacing property and walked out of Boston Municipal Court with two years' of probation, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports, adding 11 other defacement charges were dismissed.

Fairey admitted he plastered his wares in 2000 in Brighton and, in advance of his ICA show, in Back Bay and Fort Point Channel earlier this year.

In addition to probation, Fairey must pay $2,000 to a local company that cleans up graffiti, "make a statement of apology to residents and deterrence to other potential offenders" and not walk around Suffolk County with any of the "tools of the trade," the DA's office said.

In response, Fairey's PR person issued a press release that said nothing apologetic, but did say Fairey is "very pleased to have the Boston case behind him" and indicated this would not be the last we'd see of public displays of posters that build on the work of other artists:

As an artist with a traveling exhibition surveying two decades of his work, which includes many examples of public art and the iconic Obama "Hope" poster, Shepard believes that it is important for artists everywhere to have access to public spaces to display their work, but do so in a respectful manner.

Dueling press releases:

From Jake Wark, spokesman for the Suffolk County DA's office:

FAIREY PLEADS GUILTY TO MULTIPLE PROPERTY DAMAGE CHARGES

PROSECUTORS TERMINATE ADDITIONAL CASES

BOSTON, July 10, 2009—The Los Angeles artist charged with multiple counts of graffiti-related offenses pleaded guilty in a Boston courtroom today, agreeing to pay $2000 to a local graffiti clean-up company, to possess none of his “tools of the trade” while in Suffolk County, and to make a statement of apology to residents and deterrence to other potential offenders.

FRANK SHEPARD FAIREY, 39, pleaded guilty to one count of defacing property for a 2000 case in which he placed a poster on a Brighton Avenue electrical box and two counts of wanton destruction of property for a sticker he placed on a Fort Point traffic sign and a poster he affixed to a Back Bay condominium.

Boston Municipal Court Judge Mark Summerville ordered Fairey to serve two years of probation. During that time, Fairey must pay $2000 to a Boston-based graffiti cleanup service; he must notify the Department of Probation in advance if he expects to travel within Suffolk County; and he must not possess stickers, posters, wheat paste, or other graffiti-related materials while in Suffolk County except in connection with legal and authorized art installations.

Fairey also agreed to make a statement that first apologizes to Boston residents for placing the stickers and posters in unauthorized areas without the owners’ consent and goes on to stress the importance of respecting private property.

Also today, prosecutors affirmatively moved to terminate the prosecution of 11 additional graffiti-related charges against Fairey. Prosecutors had previously terminated the prosecution of 14 complaints after a review of the evidence led them to believe they could not prove the allegations beyond a reasonable doubt.

Assistant District Attorney Adam Foss prosecuted the case. Fairey was represented by attorney Jeffrey Wiesner.

From Jay Strell, Fairey's spokesman:

STATEMENT BY JAY STRELL
SPOKESMAN FOR SHEPARD FAIREY

July 10, 2009

Shepard is very pleased to have the Boston case behind him and return his attention to making art.

As an artist with a traveling exhibition surveying two decades of his work, which includes many examples of public art and the iconic Obama “Hope” poster, Shepard believes that it is important for artists everywhere to have access to public spaces to display their work, but do so in a respectful manner.

Shepard will return to Boston again on July 31st for a closing party at the Institute of Contemporary Art to celebrate the end of his successful show, which closes August 16th. The show has been seen by over 100,000 people, and the party is an opportunity for Shepard to finally celebrate the exhibition, before it heads to the Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh this fall.

Shepard looks forward to continuing to bring his art to people everywhere whether it is inside a museum or in publicly available spaces.