Fairey could face jail for Boston graffiti

Published Apr 15 2009, 01:38 AM by Greg Cook

Shepard Fairey could face jail time for his, ahem, alleged graffiti in Boston after a Municipal Court judge decided yesterday that the vandalism charges against him could be treated as felonies instead of misdemeanors.

The Los Angeles artist, whose work is the focus of a major retrospective at Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art, faces as many as a dozen charges from Boston police. Treated as misdemeanors, Fairey could have been fined up to $100 per charge and ordered to pay restitution. Judge Eleanor Coe Sinnott’s ruling means that Fairey could now face up to three years in state prison for each felony charge.

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2 Comments

sb said:

This is ridiculous!

April 15, 2009 9:16 AM
TBL81172 said:

What's ridiculous about it? If they get caught doing a felony level of vandalism, they get a felony penalty. "The difference between art and vandalism is permission."

If you were the one paying hundreds or maybe thousands of dollars to have uninvited paintings scrubbed from your property, would it still be "ridiculous" to you?

If taggers are "artists," is the guy who snaps the antenna off a car a "sculptor"?

April 18, 2009 5:47 PM