Stealing digital photos has long been a pasttime for some web junkies, and we as photographers have always dealt with it. Sign of the times. But this week’s theft of Jason Lee’s Polaroid portrait of actor Dennis Hopper is straight-up bull shittake.
The art collective ThisLosAngeles last week reported that, after a gallery opening called These Friends, they agreed to let a patron use the restroom just before closing. Turns out that this particular patron visited the toilet, but also paid a visit to the incredibly valuable (and beautiful) one-of-a-kind-polaroid-portrait of Dennis Hopper (shot by artist/actor Jason Lee) in the back of the gallery…and he swiped it. Pulled the art off the wall and walked out.
G’head and blame the gallery, blame the collective, blame the attendant who let the guy take a leak, blame whomever. The point is that I’m blaming the perpetrator and you should too. Stealing is bad, stealing one of a kind art is worse, and that the thief is amongst us…
Now–after several days and a $25,000 reward–Lee’s Polaroid is still missing. The gallery is facing the prospect of going out of business, the cops have little resources to sink resources into finding the culprit and recovering the loss. Wouldn’t it be nice if we in the photo, art, design, pop culture community could track this photo (and this criminal) down?
Citizens arrest. Call Jeremy Weiss at 323-747-5301 or this@thislosangeles.com if you have any tips.
(via Fraction Magazine. More details here from ThisLosAngeles.)
I could dress this up but hey – what a twat!
Just retweeted and shared this on HIdden Los Angeles. I’ll share it with m friends as well.
This is sick. People who indulge in such stuff should atleast morally realize that people into photography and art take a lot of efforts to put thing together?
Hope this work is retrieved.
I’m posting this blog post on my Facebook page.
Best,
Abhi.
Do your part, get infuriated for the next 90 minutes by tweeting and posting on your Facebook, before you may come to the epiphany that this is just a photo. It will sit on a wall, the gallery or the thief’s as a replica of the man it portrays.
Neither it, nor the duplicates found online are any closer to the reality.
Do your part, find that photo. You are changing the world.
This sort of thing really angers me.
This will be retreated immediately but being in the UK will probably hinder its usefulness.
This fine art images are meant to be enjoyed by all, and this bare faced thievery is infuriating.
I really hope this person is caught soon and the polaroid returned to its rightful place.
APB. Passing the word on.