For an exhibition in Dublin, Dutch artist Aleksandra Mir interviews Jim Fitzpatrick, the Irish artist who created the stencil-like poster of Che Guevara. It's a fascinating story of copyright, revolution, and appropriation, told by someone who's been largely invisible, even though he made one of the most widely known--and widely copied--images of the last 50 years.
Some interesting tidbits:
- Fitzpatrick originally made 1,000 two-color posters, with the stars hand-colored yellow.
- Several hand-printed early variations--and one painting--made for an exhibition went missing somewhere in Eastern Europe.
- Che was Irish. Irish Argentinean.
- After cutting off negotiations with Fitzpatrick, A US company, Fashion Victim, bought the rights to the underlying picture from the photographer's heirs and now enforces a trademark--while producing Che clothing in Honduran sweatshops.
- There was an Amsterdam rebel group called 'The Provos.'
Not everything is always Black or White. [aleksandramir.info]
Jim Fitzpatrick's website
