Opening night at LIVE from the NYPL kicked off with a sold-out event featuring Lawrence Lessig, Shepard Fairey and Steven Johnson discussing Remix. Check it out!

Watch the full length version of the LIVE from the NYPL program here.

Before the conversation in Celeste Bartos Forum got underway on Thursday, lawyer and renowned copyright expert Lawrence Lessig launched the evening with his erudite Remix / Copyright presentation. Lessig also exhibited several Barack Obama photographs, pointing out that they too could have been versions referenced by the artist Shepard Fairey when designing the iconic "Hope" image. After Lessig's impressive case against (old) IP law, Shepard Fairey took the stage and shared work from his collection, spoke about the Obama poster (acknowledging Mannie Garcia) and the significance of its creation and elaborated on phenomenology, a philosophy with which he identifies much of his work and creative process. Read Shepard Fairey's Manifesto.

Lawrence Lessig and Shepard Fairey took their seats next to moderater Steven Johnson and the three delved into a discussion that examined remix culture (both modern and of days passed), the concept of originality, copyright laws, the alleged infractions of sampling work, intellectual property rights, and played several clips of remixes -from Beyonce's Single Ladies' music video and its parody on Saturday Night Live to a piece created by Filmmaker Andrew Filippone, Jr. titled "Charlie Rose by Samuel Becket." Filippone, present at the program, contributed commentary.

Just before opening the conversation up to the audience, Steven Johnson read selected questions that had been submitted by the public via e-mail, like this one from DJ Spooky (aka Paul Miller):

Do you think technology has democratized the creative process and made it more of a social process? Can people ever be original again, or will everything be about sampling - graphic design material, video material, and sound?

Hear the answer, and the live audience Q&A here.

For more extensive recaps on the evening, check out: The New York Times, Blackbook, PSFK, Fast Company, Cause Global, X Reference, Public Library Association, Consumerist, WebMetrics Guru, Kenyanthropos and Time Out Magazine. Watch a pre-event interview filmed with the participants in the Green Room by WNYC.

Among the diehard fans of Shepard Fairey at the program, this guest takes the cake. And, yes Shepard Fairey signed her back (which she will make permanent with her next tattoo). See photos of Fairey's work on Flickr by HARGO.

Special Thanks to the Brooklyn Brewery for generously sponsoring the public reception at this LIVE from the NYPL Remix evening. LIVE from the NYPL would also like to thank our bookseller,192 Books, photographer, Peter Foley and our Artist in Residence, Flash Rosenberg.

Continue the conversation! Please post your commentary and questions. You can also direct questions to Lawrence Lessig, Steven Johnson and Shepard Fairey on this blog.

Photo of Leigh Bond taken by Peter Foley