My last public exhibit would have been fantastic; I sold 4 pieces out of it and was thrilled that folks were loving my work! Yes it, was better than most of the showings even, but for one horrible event: someone stole a painting.
I remember the morning I received a call from the curator and coordinator of the exhibit at the local county developmental services building. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing; She informed me that my painting is missing and we’ve very little info about when and how it was taken. She had put in an information request for the video that day. She said that she believed the police were already involved, but would let me know developments as she became aware.
I was gutted. This painting was special to me- I’d viewed it as an avatar of sorts: a silly octopus trying to juggle as many art forms as it could manage- a camera, a carving knife, a brush, a potter’s wheel… And- I had already sold it. It was required to hang on the wall until the exhibit ended, but it was paid for and purchased. I decided to wait to let the owner know, hoping it would be found. After all, how could someone steal a painting on the 4th floor of a government building that you are supposed to sign in to, with cameras everywhere, and employees always present and not get caught?
When I finally heard that the video request turned up nothing because the county had no idea when it was taken, although they were informed of a narrow window of possibility, I had to let the owner know. When I asked what the police had to say, I was informed that they were never involved. They had never called them. If an item is stolen from your building, would you not inform the police? I was furious, but kept it cool and it immediately called them to report the theft. When a responding police officer responded, he let me know that there was little they could do now because the county didn’t put a hold on the surveillance video and instead recorded over it. Suspicious, I thought. When collecting the exhibit, I was also informed that in order to remove the piece from the hanging system, the thief would have had to be standing on a chair or ladder, none of which were in the area except in a locked employee lounge. What was I to think? What would you think?
Facing all of this, I offered the patron a refund, but she graciously offered that instead of a refund we could do a commissioned piece. Another octopus, but this time playing on the beach. No refund, but a new painting- A ‘washout’, if you will. So, that is what I titled the piece; The Washout. I have to say, I like it more than the original Artopus.
I carried insurance to hopefully cover the theft, but they wouldn’t reimburse the price of the stolen work- only the cost of the materials used to create it, providing I could give them receipts. That was ridiculous to me, because it was purchased and had passed the line of perceived value and into the land of real value. They disagreed. So, I don’t see much value in their services now.
As for the county and all the absolute devastating incompetence I encountered through tangentially dealing with them, I’m lost at what could be done. My wife is an employee there (in a different department) and I would hate for it to cause problems for her. In spite of it all, I would and have shown with the group who coordinated the exhibit. I believe that they were led to believe certain things in the beginning that led to a worse outcome. Ultimately, I’m disappointed in whomever decided my work was good enough to steal, but not good enough to buy. I can forgive your interruption to my merry art-making, but I do hope your eyeballs fall out and you can never gaze on anything except the blackness of your soul.
Lucas Nickerson Fine Artist 