[MSN] Commercial Real Estate Women, Tampa Bay is seeking the return of an 8-foot by 16-foot art piece stolen this week from its Franklin Street project in downtown Tampa.

[MSN]

Art thief sought

Tampa Bay Business Journal - by Janet Leiser Staff Writer

Commercial Real Estate Women, Tampa Bay is seeking the return of an 8-foot
by 16-foot art piece stolen this week from its Franklin Street project in
downtown Tampa. 

"We're disappointed. We tried to make the area more inviting and then
someone does this," said Abbey Dohring, vice president at the Dohring Group
and the CREW member in charge of the ArtLoud project unveiled March 1. 

More than two dozen artists painted scenes from an ice cream parlor to a hat
shop on 4-foot by 8-foot pieces of plywood that were hung over the
ground-level windows of long-time vacant buildings between Polk and Tyler
streets. 

The 600 feet of paintings are part of a grassroots effort by CREW to hide
the abandoned storefronts and show the possibilities of an area that appears
blighted. 

Artist Mike Parker's painting, which consisted of two pieces of plywood
designed to look like one piece, was discovered missing on Tuesday, said
Dohring, who hopes to offer a reward for the art's return. 

The painting depicts a male figure on the left and a female figure on the
right, Parker said. The figures face each other, their heads barely
touching, creating an incomplete triangle. Their heads are wrapped in rope. 

To Parker, the work depicts downtown's inability to progress as a city where
people live, play and work. "Everything closes down at 5 p.m.," he said. 

"At first I was a little upset," Parker said of the theft. "But then after I
thought about it, someone really had to make an effort to take them so I
guess I'm flattered." 

But the thief might not have stolen the painting because he liked it, Parker
said, adding, "It could be somebody who was offended by it." 

The piece, which weighs about 300 pounds, was previously tagged with
graffiti but Parker had fixed it. 

CREW, assisted by the Uptown Council, Tampa Downtown Partnership and Urban
Charrette, also hung lights and redid landscaping in the area. It's all part
of CREW's commitment to rejuvenating uptown, the area between Kennedy
Boulevard and Interstate 275. 

Anyone with information, should call Dohring at (813) 223-9111.