Kathie Olivas: Sculpture stolen...

What's Mine Is Not Yours

Two weeks ago, Bay area mainstream newspapers reported the theft of a public art work from the Tampa Museum of Art's outdoor display. The metal sculpture was attached to the wall near the entrance ramp to the museum where it "announced" the work inside. The dailies said the work was one among pieces in The Collection in Perspective, a group of 14 by Gainesville artist Richard Hiepp. That this lineup represents overkill and does little to enhance the museum is another column.

Now, what you didn't read. In the 1980s, the buzzword was "appropriation," generally interpreted as one artist borrowing the work of another. We're sort of past that now, though in fact it happens all the time. The trouble is that when TMA identified the sculpture's artist they neglected to state that the image had been "appropriated" from a 24-year-old living artist. An ill-advised precedent wouldn't you agree?

The image in question was derived from Tampa artist Kathie Olivas' painting installed in last summer's underCURRENT/overVIEW 4 (see image at left). Although columnist Steve Otto mocked the metal copy, the original was one that I suggested was the artist's best, among those I was familiar with. It's not that Olivas, also curator of exhibitions for Hyde Park Fine Arts, minds having her original creation immortalized in someone's else's metal sculpture. I think she's flattered. The problem is the "don't ask, don't tell" scenario. Which means she was never told about the project, was never asked if she minded relinquishing one of her recognizable signature motifs, and was never notified that it was actually installed.

Olivas learned of her dubious "honor" when friends congratulated her on the museum's exterior installation. She was stunned. Along with hoping that the work is found, she'd like her name, along with all appropriated artists, to be acknowledged on the wall. It's only fair.

Adrienne Golub, Weekly Planet 08.30.01