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.)
We should have had a better way to deal with these. Its a good case Chavis. and good to see you use this platform for good causes like these!
Cheers!
The Bald-faced criminal aspect aside..It was in fact a crime and all that wailing and gnashing of teeth..I hope the person just secretly returns the damn thing..BUT…I am willing to bet Hopper would have thought that was SO COOL…In case you have never read anything about the man himself…NO ANGEL!
First off, thank you Chase for posting this on your blog. First time visitor, new follower.
I am one of the owners of THIS gallery and a fellow photographer.
THIS has been a complete labour of love for the 5 of us involved. It’s a place run by friends for friends to come together and have an outlet to show their art. It’s all of our very very part time job but still takes a ton of work to pull off. My wife and I are both pretty busy photographers, as well as another partner Aaron Farley but somehow we figure out a way to pull of running a full time gallery, shits not easy.
Anyway, this happening to us and our good friend Jason really took the wind out of our sails and made us question why we are even running a gallery. It’s obviously not for the money as we pay out of pocket to keep the place alive.
And to respond to the people who just commented how insurance will just pay for it, theres much more too it than that. For one, who cares? Jason doesn’t want the money, he wants his picture back. For two, the gallery makes no money and insurance companies do not like to pay money. The raise of our premiums alone would put this place under.
But we will figure this shit out and find a way to move on, it means too much to us for us to quit.
Thanks for your support,
Jeremy & THIS.
PS. Please don’t put a value on someone else’s art.
I read through the original post, too, but I’m still unclear on why the gallery is potentially going out of business because of the loss of this photograph.
Really lame of the thief any way you look at it.