Addendum added to the end of post. Pop art movement. Warhol, Lichtenstein. Took others' art without permission and screen printed, painted, or mural-ized it. Citing the original source of work was not required, but the artists would likely cite the originals upon request. The artists added certain stylism to their renditions, but the main purpose of the movement was not theft, but to exploit a particular icon and demonstrate just how little value the original has in a mass production society.

OBEY movement. Shepard Fairey. Takes other's art without permission and makes all kinds of shit. Citing the original source of work is now required by law, and Fairey lies about his "borrowing" when asked. (Even denies knowing cultural relevance of politically charged artwork that he steals when prompted to explain the relevance of his having chosen that particular design.) Fairey vandalizes the original piece through his deconstructed, mutilated rendition, and the main purpose of the moment is to garner attention and make money. All his art states "No original work has inherent value. Here, let me destroy it so to mock its historical relevance, and I have given myself permission to do so because I want to a fancy art school and learned business instead of actually obtaining any talent whatsoever. My millionaire father paid for my art education, since I don't have any talent that would have paid my way through college. I can get away without knowing the importance of the pieces I'm stealing if I steal pieces obscure enough that no one else knows either! I'm going to pretend to give a damn about supporting meaningful causes because it garners publicity, and the more I act like my involvement aids a good cause, the less people will care about how big of a thief I really am! Give me money and shower me with attention!" [link]

I fucking hate you, deviantART. If you would ban an art thief who won't cite his sources, then why are you hosting a contest that not only is judged by the biggest art thief EVAR, but the requirement for entering said contest is to steal from that art thief? Is this a sick joke?

The biggest thing upsetting me is that most people who are "thumbs-downing" the announcement for the contest are people who are anti-gay. (The contest is being hosted for FAIR Love, an equal rights group.)

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Addendum Okay, so I should never think I could ever be original with an idea like Faireyizing a picture of Hypnotoad. [link] It's no less hilarious, though, especially considering the parody has more stylistic leanings than anything Fairey's ever exhibited.