[MSN] KARACHI: Renowned artist and sculptor Anjum Ayaz appears sorely disappointed to learn that some of his stone and marble sculptures that were placed on the main Sea View have been stolen.

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Sculptures theft leaves artist broken hearted
 
KARACHI: Renowned artist and sculptor Anjum Ayaz appears sorely disappointed
to learn that some of his stone and marble sculptures that were placed on
the main Sea View have been stolen.

"I was informed by a source that the sculptures have been stolen when I was
abroad," said the artist, adding that he doesn't want to make undue fuss
over the theft of his sculptures, but it was only natural for him to lament
the incident. He said that it's disappointing for an artist to see his art
being exploited.

"My idea behind putting those sculptures at a highly visited public place
like Sea View was basically to share my work with common man who otherwise
probably won't get a chance to visit the art galleries or exhibitions in the
city," says the depressed artist who has worked internationally in stone,
marble and other metallic forms.

Ayaz said that the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) administration assured
him of the security and maintenance of the sculptures when they were
primarily placed there.

Surprisingly, most of the DHA officials initially pleaded ignorance of the
matter and stated that they were not informed of any theft of the
sculptures. "I would definitely have been informed about the theft, if it
had ever happened," said Col Javed Ahmed, Additional Director DHA Vigilance
Branch.

Later on, the disappearance of three of the art pieces was confirmed by DHA
spokesperson, Col Naqvi.

When quizzed who's responsible for the theft, the DHA Utility and Services
Wing had only this to say: "A meeting will be held with the DHA
Administration in a couple of days where this matter will be discussed."

"Even though the sculptures weren't made of very expensive material, art has
its worth!" said the artist, revealing that he had made those sculptures
free of cost, whereas the material was provided to him by the DHA.

He remembered Anwar Maqsood advising the administration at the inaugural to
employ a guard alongside each of the art pieces. "Although what he said was
just a joke, at least some precautions should have been taken for their
safety," he said.

Ayaz said that unfortunately, art doesn't get the kind of exposure and
respect in Pakistan it deserves. "Moreover, very little work has been done
in sculptures here and this was also a reason that I offered my work to the
authority," explained the sculptor.

It's just a matter of negligence as it's nothing unusual to put such pieces
of art at public places; many countries do the same, he said. "It gives
encouragement to the artists and arouses the aesthetic feelings in general
public; the only thing such exposure requires is its protection," he said.

The artist believes that the aesthetic sense of a common man needs to be
awakened. People visit and see the sculptures. "The verses and flowers on
the sculptures may not appeal a common man very strongly, but it gives them
some kind of a message for sure," the artist said while highlighting the
importance of the stolen sculptures.

But there are people who show nonchalance towards such artistic creations
and argue that a layman doesn't get any benefit from sculptures. "I don't
understand the need of these sculptures when the city has other more serious
issues to deal with at first," says an environmentalist who didn't want to
disclose her name. Does a layman have something to do with all this or does
he really care about that?

http://www.thenews.com.pk/