Shepard Fairey Gets His Ass Kicked Over Street Art--UPDATE

The Guardian is reporting that Shepard Fairey, otherwise known as 'Obey', got beaten up in Copenhagen, Denmark because of strong feelings directed towards one of his murals. Shepard said, "I have a black eye and a bruised rib'.

Reportedly, some locals were upset about a spot where Shepard had painted a mural. The building that the mural went up on was right next to a spot where a separate building, and activist hang out, was demolished by the city. Shepard's mural featured a dove and the word 'peace', but apparently some locals are not yet ready to put the old feelings behind them. They were upset at the way it seemed like the city was trying to 'make nice' and sweep the discontent under the carpet. Shepard has maintained that the city had nothing to do with his mural. Shepard refused to press charges on his attackers.

Other than getting banged up, Shep seems to be okay. He posted a shot summary of his time in Copenhagen on his site, and says a further, more thorough explanation is yet to come.

***UPDATE-Shepard just posted his take on the events that went down. Shepard is very articulate, and we have mad respect for his forging a trail and trying to do his thing no matter what people say. And yet he has found himself in a somewhat awkward position where he is too corporate for street and too street for mainstream. Still, Shep that despite this demoralizing experience, he is going to keep doing his thing. You can read all his words HERE***

-Black eye pic taken by Jon Furlong.