Was the photograph Shepard Fairey used as a basis for his "Hope" image of Barack Obama a social text? The Associated Press (AP) thought not. Mannie Garcia, the freelance AP photographer who snapped the 2006 referent for Fairey's iconic 2008 print, did not originally recognize his handiwork when the poster first began its viral spread throughout political and popular culture. But when someone identified his own work to him, Garcia told National Public Radio (NPR) that he was "disappointed that someone was able to go onto the Internet and take something that doesn't belong to them and use it." Fairey, who as late as January 2009 was unaware of Garcia's identity, preemptively sued the AP, citing "fair use." Meanwhile, Garcia held his own doubts about the AP's claim that they and not he owned his handiwork. As the legal machinery swung into action, the National Portrait Gallery quietly invited Garcia to hang a signed print of his original photo next to the Fairey print they had earlier 

acquired. Artistic rebel, meet working stiff.