NoHo Business Owner Saves Public Art From Would-Be Thief

Thefts of copper and other metals are on the rise nationwide, as some victims of the struggling economy have turned to metal thievery as a way to make money.

The problem struck a key piece of public art right in the NoHo Arts District when a would-be thief tried to steal a part of the Phoenix Rising sculpture.

But that was before the thief ran into local business owner Arman Makar.

One morning about three months ago, Makar, owner of the located at the corner of Lankershim Boulevard, Burbank Boulevard and Tujunga Avenue, showed up for work and noticed something missing across the street.

The Phoenix Rising sculpture, a large piece of public art that welcomes visitors from the north to the NoHo Arts District, was missing its tall chair and bronze eagle that was supposed to be attached to the top of a five-foot diameter bronze sphere. The artwork was commissioned by the Community Redevelopment Agency and constructed in 2003 by artist Stephen Schubert.

It wasn't the first time someone had cut down the chair and eagle presumably to sell the metals it is made out of, so Makar said he immediately noticed it was missing. The outdoor seating area where customers wait for their cars at his business faces the sculpture, and it is a frequent topic of conversation among them.

But the chair and eagle, which made the sculpture stick up about 10 feet in the air, was gone.

Makar then noticed something else. He saw a man in a pickup truck parked up the street trying to lift the chair into the truck. Makar ran out and confronted the man.

"I went over there and I said, 'My friend, you cannot take that. What are you doing?'" Makar said. "And he said, 'Who are you? It's none of your business.' I said, 'I'm the owner of the car wash and you cannot take this. It belongs to the city. It belongs to the CRA.'"

As the verbal altercation escalated, Makar said the man, whom he described as a Latino, started to push him. At that point, some of Makar's employees at the car wash noticed what was happening and ran to his aid. Makar said the man gave up, got in his truck and drove away.

Makar and his employees picked up the sculpture and carried it inside the car wash. He then called the CRA and told them what happened. A few days later some workers came from the CRA came and picked it up.

However, because the sculpture has been the target of thieves several times, its future at the corner of Burbank, Lankershim and Tujunga remains uncertain, according to , the executive director of the . The chair and eagle are currently in storage.

Gilstrap and some other members of the community want it moved indoors to the lobby of a building where it will be safe from vandals and thieves. A meeting is taking place tomorrow at the CRA's North Hollywood office to try and determine the future of the sculpture. Another option she mentioned is to rebuild the chair and eagle out of aluminum instead of bronze so it will be less of a target for scrap metal thieves.

Makar's heroic saving of the sculpture was not the first time someone stole or attempted to steal the chair and eagle.

Christopher Huss is an art dealer who has been involved in helping move, restore or protect public art projects around Los Angeles. He also frequently gets his car washed at Makar's business. Several years ago he went to the Tujunga Car Wash and noticed the chair and eagle were missing.

"Naturally, my interests were peaked when I noticed this beautiful sculpture was vandalized. Arman loves the sculpture as well, and we have always admired it," Huss said. 

Several years ago the chair disappeared, but then reappeared a few months later. At that point rumors and myths about the sculpture began to form in the neighborhood, and Makar said he was told by several customers that it had been found in the desert near the Mexican border.

Patch contacted the CRA's North Hollywood office and was told the Mexican border story was "urban legend" and that it was in fact discovered in a nearby alleyway and refitted to the sculpture. 

"Arman and I made a bet after it was refitted. I said, 'It won't last until Christmas,'" Huss said. "But it did. It lasted a whole year, and then a year later it (was cut down) a second time."

Huss also feels the sculpture should be moved indoors where it will be safe, or remade out of aluminum. 

"I don't think it should go back up and be displayed publicly. They're just going to steal it or vandalize it again," Huss said. "It will just be an over and over again cat-and-mouse game. What I would suggest is you get the city, and I will help raise funds for it ... and make it out of aluminum."

According to NoHoArtsDistrict.com, which first reported on the attempted theft back on Aug. 31, the Phoenix Rising globe "symbolizes our home, the chair represents a balanced and grounded place to gather, and the phoenix means renewal or rebirth. The concept behind the work is: as a Phoenix will rise out of the ashes, so will the NoHo Arts District - It will be a creative hub for all artists living in the City of Los Angeles."

Makar has owned the car wash for 16 years and said since it was constructed, the Phoenix Rising sculpture has been a frequent topic of conversation among his customers, but even more so now that the chair and eagle are missing.

"People are now all saying, 'Where is the statue? Where is the statue? Where is the chair? What's the meaning of it? Why a chair? Why a bird?' People are curious, they are always asking a lot of questions," said Makar. "I don't think there is an explanation of why a chair and why a bird. But the thing is, when it was there, not as many people were talking about it. No one would say, 'Oh, there's a chair and a bird.' But now that it's gone, everyone is saying, 'What happened to the bird? What happened to the chair?'"