BY GEORGE

  I get my art news from the Yahoo feed. Been a long time since I've picked up an art magazine and I guess it doesn't factor much into my life conversation anymore (unless, of course, you want to talk about what I'm doing in the field). This kind of art news tends to be of the sensational realism school. Some guy makes realistic cadavers and places them around town, another artist carves super realistic cardboard boxes of cash, out of wood, and someone else makes paintings come to life by.....you get the idea. There's got to be an angle. But today's news is a little different, actually right up my alley. It brings up issues of intellectual property, that a lot of us deal with these days. Want to talk about an artist's right to fuck with a fellow artist's work? I'm on board.
    Everyone's favorite sad, little vigilante- George Zimmerman has taken up the brush. In between his bouts of gun wielding paranoia and girlfriend abuse, George has decided to make art, inspired by his ongoing travails. A recent work copies an AP photo of the Florida prosecutor ,who lost the Trayvon Martin case. The photographer, as well as AP, is all up in arms over it. I don't think the prosecutor cares. I'm sure she's had enough of Mr. Zimmerman. And to make sure that there's no chance George may be a real artist, the intrepid Yahoo reporter contacted the critics of record for The Village Voice and Time. Yahoo did not contact a lawyer for comment.
    The critics don't do George any favors, but when do they do anybody any favors? They dismiss his brush work, his ham handed technique. It's hilarious. Since when has art been about any of this? They compare him to John Wayne Gacy and Charlie Manson. That's pretty heady company for someone just starting out to make enemies. No championing of George Bush by Jerry Salz here. The critics are about a clueless as Zimmerman. Sure it's a bad painting. Who cares? The only real issue is does anybody have the right to take an image that is all over the internet and make a bad painting of it......even George Zimmerman? I say YES, YOU ASSHOLES! George Zimmerman has the right to paint bad paintings, that are direct copies of anything he sees in the paper, or on the internet, (whether it concerns him or not) til the cows come home.....just like any other artist. Over the years I've painted over plenty of other artists' original work, glued plenty of porn to the front pages of news papers and most recently photographed and purchased the work of Ethelbert B. Crawford, manipulating his images with paint and blood. It's my right, nay duty, as an artist. That's why they call it real estate. Keep painting George, the brush is mightier than the 9mm. I invite you to rip off any of my work and make it your own. I hope to hell your new vocation keeps you off the streets........for all our sake.