'The Scream' stolen from museum (again!)

seraph

Sunday, August 22, 2004 Posted: 1147 GMT (1947 HKT)

OSLO, Norway (AP) -- Armed men stormed into an art museum Sunday, threatened staff at gunpoint and stole Edvard Munch's famous paintings "The Scream" and "Madonna" before the eyes of stunned museum-goers.
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but it's not the first time:

mosc · Posted: Sun Aug 22, 2004 8:50 am Post subject:

Yikes, that's not very nice.

We were just there in September. Good thing we got to see this before it got stolen. What a shame. Stealing art from a museum is a crime against the community. I'm sure this is upsetting to everyone in Oslo, and the rest of Norway for that matter.

elektro80 · Posted: Sun Aug 22, 2004 9:01 am Post subject:

Yup.. true. there are news updates on TV every hour. They even kicked out some Star Trek Voyager reruns in order show those news updates. I want my klingons back! hopefully they will not intersect my Stargate Atlantis episode 7 I am waiting for right now..

Oskar · Joined: Jul 29, 2004 Posts: 1751 Location: Norway

I seem to remember that last time this happened, most Norwegians were sort of ambivalent about it; One one hand, most people (excluding members of the near-extrem-right Fremskrittspartiet, "The Progress Party" who pride themselves on the fact that they consider Shania Twain and Baywatch high art) are upset to see such a national treasure being stolen, just like that. On the other hand, we admire that kind of derring-do, maybe not so much this time since there were weapons involved; Last time they took advantage of a weakness in the alarm system and lowered themselves through a roof window in a manner which few crime novel hacks would consider in this day and age. Last time we also felt it both funny and embarrassing, and yet strangely proud that we live in a country where the authorities are so naïve when it comes to crime prevention. I mean, my dad has made a point of not lcking his car, and he's not had his car broken into yet. Of course, in the bigger urban areas you don't get away with that, but the incidence and and violence of crime in Norway is still not all that bad. Still, I reckon an armed robbery of an art museum will lead to a heated public debate.

mosc · Posted: Sun Aug 22, 2004 11:33 am Post subject:

What a wacky painting to steal. I mean how are you going to sell it? - it is so recognizable. It's almost an act of cultural terrorism.

I noticed in the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam that every painting was behind glass. Many were behind glass cases maybe more secure but much worse from an unwanted reflection point of view. I was quite disappointed because the glass greatly impares the enjoyment of the paintings, especially textured paintings like Van Gogh's. I recall from my visit to the Munch Museum in Oslo that there was very little glass. I visited the Metorpolitan Museum of Art in New York last week and there was not much glass there either.

I bet glass is a trend. Folks, visit those art museums now while you can still see the art... and while it's still there...

elektro80 · Posted: Sun Aug 22, 2004 11:54 am Post subject:

I guess the current trend is that people bring the art back home...

blue hell · Posted: Sun Aug 22, 2004 12:09 pm Post subject:

Oskar · Joined: Jul 29, 2004 Posts: 1751 Location: Norway

elektro80 · Posted: Sun Aug 22, 2004 1:06 pm Post subject:

They might be right. I guess we will know.. soon.

Oskar · Joined: Jul 29, 2004 Posts: 1751 Location: Norway

seraph · Posted: Sun Aug 22, 2004 2:53 pm Post subject:

mosc · Posted: Sun Aug 22, 2004 5:01 pm Post subject:

Yes, in many museums these days there seem to be proximity detectors that keep you at a proper distance. These alarm tones and aggressive voices from above kind of ruin the experience though. It would be more pleasant if there was notification by a sexy female voice, or even an angelic one. You know, "move back from the painting, handsome. I don't want anybody close to you but me." Or maybe, "Keep a proper distance and you'll have eternal life in heaven with the synthesizer of your choice. If you are Moslem, you'll have lots of sex with many women with no romantic attachement. If you are Christian, you won't have any sex at all, but you won't miss it. If you are Jewish, you probably will feel out of place, but you'll make the best of a bad situation."

elektro80 · Posted: Sun Aug 22, 2004 5:11 pm Post subject:

Did you ever consider a future in public relations?

seraph · Posted: Sun Aug 22, 2004 11:38 pm Post subject:

Oskar · Joined: Jul 29, 2004 Posts: 1751 Location: Norway

Btw, there's already a joke doing the sms rounds here in Norway, which translates something like this:
For sale: two elderly paintings; First painting is of a nice-looking, topless bird with a halo. Second painting depicts hysterical biddy on a bridge. Quick sale gets you a good price.

mosc · Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2004 8:35 am Post subject:

Be sure to keep us informed of developments with this story...

ManuMontevideo · Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2004 8:42 am Post subject:

stolen