Inept Copycats

So, what exactly is it about Edvard Munch's paintings that encourage theft?

OSLO (Reuters) - Masked robbers stole three worthless copies of pictures by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch from an Oslo hotel Wednesday in a bungled raid, almost a year after Munch's 1893 masterpiece "The Scream" was stolen.

Thieves wrenched the copies off the walls of Oslo's Hotel Continental with crowbars, a Reuters reporter at the scene said.

The thieves struck almost a year after armed robbers stole "The Scream" and another work by the pioneer of modern expressionism from an Oslo museum in front of stunned tourists.

Police were searching for three robbers, two who entered the hotel and one who waited in a getaway car that was found abandoned nearby.

"They both had crowbars and were wearing hoods and masks," Reuters reporter Anne Merete Henriksen said.{...}

You're, of course, asking where the ineptitude alluded to in the title is. I live to deliver you, my devoted Cake Eater readers, the goods, so here it is:

{...}The hotel has 12 Munch originals -- lithographs, wood cuts and an etching.

{...}"The three paintings were copies but we are handling the case as if they had been genuine," Hjulstad told Reuters. He said he did not see any link to last August's museum theft.

So, you've got lots of Munch goodies to steal in this particular hotel, yet these bunglers manage to steal three copies rather than any of the real stuff. Duh.

Which leads me back to my original question: what exactly is it about Munch's work that encourages theft?

I'll admit, Munch is not my favorite, but that's my own deal. It's good art, because it makes you think. But as far as my personal preferences are concerned, well, The Scream is not something I'd want hanging on my living room wall, ya dig? It's just a wee bit uncomfortable for my liking because that's probably what I look like when I scream, and like everyone else, I only want flattering portraits of myself hanging in my home. But, again, that's just me. Apparently Munch is very popular with some people, as they've been following the story of last summer's museum heist rather closely.

I've long wondered if, perhaps, RP's interest has---ahem---a wee bit more behind it...if you get what I'm driving at. Hmmmm? Like he's a litigator by day and Thomas Crown by night?

Hmmmm?

I'll be curious to see if RP has made a trip to Norway recently. Sure he said he was moving. And cleaning off his desk yesterday. That doesn't mean he didn't have something to do with the theft.

He---gasp!---could have been lying!

{Insert any number of conspiracy theories here}

But, really RP. I think you could have at least hired some competent thieves. You know, ones who could distinguish between the real stuff and the fakes. You're taking too many risks with these smash and grab jobs. Or are the smash and grab jobs just a clever diversionary tactic? You know, to keep suspicion from falling on you for the real theft? Hmmmm? Inquiring minds want to know.

Posted by Kathy at August 5, 2005 10:15 AM | TrackBack