In a recent statement, artist Shepard Fairey explains some reasoning behind his lawsuit against The Associated Press, which he hopes will protect him from copyright infringement claims over his “Hope” portrait of President Obama. The strange thing is that Fairey acknowledges referencing a photo by AP photographer Mannie Garcia, but claims it was “not the one being circulated by press.” However, that’s not true as James Danziger, a gallerist who showed Garcia’s referenced photo in an exhibit of Obama imagery, points out in an open letter to Fairey:

What really bothered me, however, and continues to bother me is that once the correct picture was identified (Mannie’s full frame shot of Obama’s head and shoulders) you continue to insist that the picture you used was the one of Clooney and Obama. Unless it is part of your legal strategy – making your case based on using a detail of a larger picture rather than the entire picture – it makes no sense as it has been indisputably proven that the full frame head shot is the source. I guarantee this 100%.

If this is not mistake on Fairey’s part, but an effort to make it seem that the “Hope” portrait transformed the original photo more than it did, it’s coming way too late.

“Hope” portrait on left by Shepard Fairy, Photograph on right by Mannie Garcia