March 11, 2016
Good news for people who like bad news: somebody stole an Isaiah Zagar piece from South Street mainstay and art haven Tattooed Mom.
The piece, a roughly 10-12-inch-square work in Zagar's signature style -- glass and mirror mosaic -- that said "South Street" on it in red, was hanging in the front section of the bar. Until sometime Thursday, that is. Owner Robert Perry says the crew noticed it missing this morning, so it must have disappeared at some point yesterday or last night.
An Isaiah Zagar work that once hung in Tattooed Mom.Isaiah Zagar is an artistic institution in his own right, a Philly-born artist who has spent much of his career creating award-winning mosaic murals. His work can be found on more than 200 public walls in Philly as well as all over the world, his largest public artwork being Philadelphia Magic Gardens, the South Street community arts center. (To learn more about Zagar -- you really should -- click here, or see the documentary "In a Dream.") 
Robert Perry/Tattooed Mom
A friend and volunteer gave Tattooed Mom the piece sometime in the past six months as a gift. Now, Perry says their goal is just to get it back home safely, no questions asked.
"I'm not upset at the person," Perry said. "I understand how somebody could be emboldened to do it, after a cocktail ... But it was a special thing to us. It's iconic. Isaiah is iconic, iconic to South Street."
Sure, maybe someone got a little carried away with their night out. But considering the place in history that Perry and Tattooed Mom also hold in Philly's arts scene, it's only right that the perpetrator return the work ASAP.
If anyone out there has information on the whereabouts of this Zagar work, they should call Tattooed Mom at (215) 238-9880.
