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Securing Pricelessness

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the smoosh-it-in-an-attic dept.

DeliBoy writes "In light of public discussions over security after The Scream was stolen, CSO Online offers an interesting look at museum security. The article details a system designed without budget restrictions intended to secure a painting in a public gallery. Interesting how the consultant balances public access with the need for security, comprised of redundant vibration sensors, overlapping microwave and infrared motion sensors, and an old-fashioned guard. "

6 of 208 comments (clear)

  1. Re:too complex for practical use.. by homerjs42 · · Score: 3, Informative
    Almost all museums that I've been to (admittedly a fairly small set -- the ones in LA and London mostly ;) Have at least some sort of motion detector in front of the artwork. And they do in fact get lots of false alarms -- somebody leans in too close and sets the alarm off. Usually the guard/guide/some guy wearing a blue suit comes over pretty quickly to see what the beeping is about and tells the person to lean back. So I guess that they don't mind that much about having some false alarms.

    For what it's worth :)

    vote for Oscar Berger.

  2. the scream by prof187 · · Score: 2, Informative

    for anybody who doesn't know, or wasn't sure, which painting The Scream is, here...

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  3. Re:manic collector by lewiscr · · Score: 3, Informative

    Too bad it wasn't insured.

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3590702 .s tm

  4. Re:Bah... by fishbowl · · Score: 2, Informative

    "I mean, it's not like we haven't already seen these paintings before.."

    I never really appreciated Van Gogh until I was in the same room with one of his paintings. There is an important dimension which is lost in any reproduction.

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  5. Re:Comment from Article by Binary+Boy · · Score: 4, Informative

    The problem with moving art is that's when it's most vulnerable. Working in a similarly top-notch museum, I can pretty much assure you that in such a major emergency, nothing is going anywhere.

    The biggest risk seems to be takeover robberies these days, as the article aludes to. Museum guards are not typically armed, at least not in public, and they certainly are not trained to resist armed intruders in daylight with visitors around.

    Nighttime security is relatively easy - but balancing daylight security with the public's interests (casual, non-militarized galleries) is a toughy. Even in a place like where I work - a heavily fortified site on a easily defended hill overlooking Los Angeles - I can imagine with the right balls and some big guns, you aren't going to be stopped by museum security. You may have the SWAT team responding by the time you hit the gates, but I can imagine a quick exit route or three.

    Not that I've ever thought of such things.

    But again, other than a few national treasures - the Constitution in DC, several copies of Magna Cart - the risk of moving them in an emergency is not worth it.

  6. Re:Indeed by bobbozzo · · Score: 2, Informative

    "The Museum Company", a mall chain store in the US, was selling "3-D Laser scanned" reproductions of Monet, Van Gogh and other paintings which are out of copyright.

    They looked real-enough to me (they had brush strokes, etc.).

    The store by me has closed, and I don't see any paintings on their web site, so I'm not sure if they are still doing it.

    They were selling for $350-600 for 2-3 foot paintings.

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