Donut Shop 5, the exhibition currently showing in the Autzen Gallery on Neuberger Hall’s second floor, suffered a setback this week when a VCR turned up missing. This is not a first for the department.
“In the art department thefts come and go,” said department Facilities Manager Xavier Oberlander. “It’s frustrating.”
Oberlander said that the art department is reimbursing artist Cris Moss for the loss – university insurance only covers losses of $1,000 or more. Irreplaceable though, is the artwork itself – the videotape the VCR contained.
The department is now considering its options. The most viable of these is to hire student employees to watch the gallery during exhibition hours. Last year, during a show of work by department scholarship winners, one student’s art was stolen. Also, all painting classrooms are now fitted with coded locks, solving what was once a recurring problem.