Thousand Oaks, Calif. artist Pam Amputh shows her display of jewelry to Harbor Beach, Mich. residents Len Gajewski, right, and Mary Ann Gajewski during the 53rd annual East Lansing Art Festival on May 22, 2016 in East Lansing. The East Lansing Art Festival is ranked 50th in the nation in the Top 100 Fine Art Festival List by Sunshine Artist Magazine.
“We located some in the houses, and we actually had some
turned into the police office,” Lt. Scott Wriggelsworth of the East Lansing
Police Department said about the salvaged paintings. “While I think there may
have been multiple people, and they may have been linked together, this wasn’t
some big crew of art thieves into town for the festival. It was more some
intoxicated individuals who made some bad decisions on their way home from a
specific watering hole.”
Wriggelsworth said that there are suspects, and although the
investigation is ongoing, the police department intends to press charges in the
upcoming weeks. The suspects are not in custody.
For the artists, the recoveries
came as a great relief. Bala Thiagarajan had six pieces of art stolen worth a
total of $3,400. She was told by the investigating detective that three people
were involved in the heist of her artwork, two college students returning from
bars, and one other individual who assisted them, according to her Facebook
page.
“I just cannot thank the East
Lansing Police Department enough for all the hard work that they’ve put into
this,” Thiagarajan, who travelled from Chicago, said. “I was so happy. I was
beyond thrilled. I was hoping that they would be able to find it, but I was
really surprised at how quickly they were able to get it back.”
Thiagarajan was optimistic about
the finding of her pieces after her Facebook cry for help received almost 600
shares and extensive media coverage. Still, hearing the official announcement alleviated
all of the past week’s worries.
Justin Bernhardt, on the other
hand, never expected to see his stolen $350 piece again. He was no less
ebullient about the recovery, but he was shocked upon receiving a voicemail
detailing the police department’s haul.
“It’s a surprise,” Bernhardt, a
Kalamazoo-based painter, said. “You know, when it got stolen, I was like, ‘It’s
gone.’ I accepted it. And I was more surprised that it’s back again. It’s just
a surprise.”
Although Bernhardt had only one
piece stolen, he is especially excited to have that piece in particular back in
his possession.
“That was actually a transitionary
painting for me,” Bernhardt said, noting that the gold backdrop and glossy
medium was unique for him. “The funny thing about that painting is that I was
going to hang onto it and keep it for my portfolio and my personal references
because I liked it.”
Bernhardt was not outraged by the
crime, whatsoever. Rather, he remained sanguinely calm and asked for a
mitigated sentence for the thief.
“I was happy to see that someone
liked it, but it was unfortunate to have them take it,” Bernhardt said with a
chuckle about the stolen work. “I just don’t want to see someone get in too
much trouble for it because it’s not really breaking and entering… I don’t
think I will press charges.
“[Artists] know that our work is
susceptible to theft and those events. We just have a zipper, basically,
keeping the people out, whoever it may be. I think it’s a hard call because
it’s probably someone young who just wants something for their apartment.”
A minority of the stolen pieces
remains missing, including all of the collection stolen from Karri Jamison and
one additional piece of Bala Thiagarajan. Any information about the unfound
stolen paintings can be directed to East Lansing Police Department detective
Tony Fuller at (517) 319-6889.
