Shepard Fairey

A judge disclosed for the first time that the artist known for his Barack Obama “HOPE’’ image is under criminal investigation. A grand jury began an investigation after Shepard Fairey said he erred about which Associated Press photo he used as the basis for “HOPE’’ and had submitted false images and deleted other images to conceal his mistake. The disclosure came during a hearing yesterday regarding Fairey’s request for a six-month delay in the copyright case he brought against the AP. Judge Alvin Hellerstein denied the request, saying a delay would cause the AP irreparable...

EVA HESSE STUDIOWORK At: Institute of Contemporary Art, through Oct. 10. 617-478-3100, www.icaboston.org One of the things to like about the Institute of Contemporary Art is the intelligent continuity in its programming. It's not just a case of "Who, or what, can we show next?" There's logic, and evidence of long-term thinking at work. Over the last few years we have seen, interspersed with other shows, exhibitions devoted to contemporary artists from Mexico (Gabriel Kuri, Damián Ortega, Dr. Lakra)

"Question everything," urges Shepard Fairey, and so, dutifully, one does - beginning with: Is it possible to be painfully earnest and sizzlingly cool at the same time? And then: Could it be that graphic design is better than fine art, because more people take notice? And not least: Can a street artist with 14 arrests under his belt establish his own clothing line, receive letters of gratitude from an American president, and show in a swish art museum, all without losing his countercultural cred?

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. - A rather large mouth is painted on the aqua-blue wall of a prominent, centrally located building here. Part of a new indoor-outdoor exhibition mounted in May by the Portsmouth Museum of Art, the mouth has inspired many community members to open theirs. About 50 residents signed a letter of protest, presenting it to the City Council last month. The 10 murals painted on privately owned buildings are “graffiti-like abominations,’’ the letter claims, that have no place in a historic city.

NEW YORK - On buttons, posters, and websites, the image was everywhere during last year's presidential campaign: a pensive Barack Obama looking upward, as if to the future, splashed in a Warholesque red, white, and blue and underlined with the caption HOPE. Designed by Shepard Fairey, a Los-Angeles based street artist, the image has led to sales of hundreds of thousands of posters and stickers and has become so much in demand that copies signed by Fairey have been purchased for thousands of dollars on eBay . The image, Fairey has acknowledged, is based on an Associated Press...

EVA HESSE STUDIOWORK At: Institute of Contemporary Art, through Oct. 10. 617-478-3100, www.icaboston.org One of the things to like about the Institute of Contemporary Art is the intelligent continuity in its programming. It's not just a case of "Who, or what, can we show next?" There's logic, and evidence of long-term thinking at work. Over the last few years we have seen, interspersed with other shows, exhibitions devoted to contemporary artists from Mexico (Gabriel Kuri, Damián Ortega, Dr. Lakra)

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. - A rather large mouth is painted on the aqua-blue wall of a prominent, centrally located building here. Part of a new indoor-outdoor exhibition mounted in May by the Portsmouth Museum of Art, the mouth has inspired many community members to open theirs. About 50 residents signed a letter of protest, presenting it to the City Council last month. The 10 murals painted on privately owned buildings are “graffiti-like abominations,’’ the letter claims, that have no place in a historic city.

GCB 10 p.m., Channel 5 Annie Potts, Kristin Chenoweth (pictured), Miriam Shor, and Jennifer Aspen star in this series based on Kim Gatlin's novel. Think "Dallas" + "Mean Girls. " The Kandi Factory 10 p.m., Bravo Best known for unleashing "Tardy to the Party" upon the earth, Atlanta Real Housewife Kandi Burruss hunts down the next one-hit wonder in her very own Bravo spinoff. Army Wives 9 p.m., Lifetime The season premiere. The Simpsons 8 p.m., Channel 25 Shepard Fairey guests.

Previously released Exit Through the Gift Shop An art-world documentary that’s one of the best, most karmically satisfying comedies of the year. Banksy, the anonymous British street artist (or soulless graffiti punk, as you will), tells the tale of one Thierry Guetta, an inept filmmaker turned art-world sensation, and the joke is on all of us, Banksy included. With Shepard Fairey, who looks appropriately mortified. (87 min., R) (Ty Burr) The Girl on the Train A rare disappointment, if still an entertaining one, from André Téchiné.

The first clue that Wynwood Kitchen & Bar is not your usual Miami restaurant is the mammoth mural by the entrance. The flowing blue hair atop the round head of a woman extends out to all four corners of the wall. A young girl slides down a braid on the left, while to the right of the orb-like face, a truckload of revelers, who look like they took a wrong turn from their Mardi Gras route, ride the waves of curls. The subject is so whimsical, the colors so deeply saturated, and the image so perfectly rendered that you quickly realize this is no ordinary graffiti art. On the contrary, this is someone...

A judge disclosed for the first time that the artist known for his Barack Obama “HOPE’’ image is under criminal investigation. A grand jury began an investigation after Shepard Fairey said he erred about which Associated Press photo he used as the basis for “HOPE’’ and had submitted false images and deleted other images to conceal his mistake. The disclosure came during a hearing yesterday regarding Fairey’s request for a six-month delay in the copyright case he brought against the AP. Judge Alvin Hellerstein denied the request, saying a delay would cause the AP irreparable...

"Question everything," urges Shepard Fairey, and so, dutifully, one does - beginning with: Is it possible to be painfully earnest and sizzlingly cool at the same time? And then: Could it be that graphic design is better than fine art, because more people take notice? And not least: Can a street artist with 14 arrests under his belt establish his own clothing line, receive letters of gratitude from an American president, and show in a swish art museum, all without losing his countercultural cred?

NEW YORK - On buttons, posters, and websites, the image was everywhere during last year's presidential campaign: a pensive Barack Obama looking upward, as if to the future, splashed in a Warholesque red, white, and blue and underlined with the caption HOPE. Designed by Shepard Fairey, a Los-Angeles based street artist, the image has led to sales of hundreds of thousands of posters and stickers and has become so much in demand that copies signed by Fairey have been purchased for thousands of dollars on eBay . The image, Fairey has acknowledged, is based on...

Ron English is the subversive artist who for years has been overhauling advertising images in ways intended to mock and incriminate the corporate advertiser. In broad daylight, English and his crew hijack city billboards and mount his posters over preexisting ads. Perhaps you've seen his work. His most famous frequent targets include Camel cigarettes, McDonald's , and the Walt Disney Company. He once did a series of paintings in which each of Marilyn Monroe's breasts had been replaced with the head of Mickey Mouse.