30 September 2016

10 Kasus Pencurian Seni Terbesar Abad ke-20 (Bagian II)

6. Belanda: Desember 1988

'Bunga Matahari Kering' karya Van Gogh.
Tebusan lebih mudah diperoleh bilamana karya lukisan diasuransikan.
Tiga lukisan Van Gogh––Bunga Matahari Kering, Ruang Dalam Penenun, dan versi awal Pemakan Kentang––dicuri dari Museum Kroller-Muller di Otterlo, Belanda. Pola gelombang pencurian seni pada umumnya mencermini pola gelombang pasar seni, dan itu pula yang dialami pada kasus ini. Dua pekan sebelum kejadian terbit sebuah daftar berisikan harga-harga tertinggi yang pernah diraup pada perlelangan karya seni Sotheby's dan Christie's. Dalam daftar sepuluh karya termahal tercantum lima lukisan Van Gogh, termasuk Bunga Iris yang laku $ 53,9 juta (termahal pada waktu itu).

Para pelaku menuntut tebusan $ 2,5 juta. Pada 13 Juli 1989, pihak kepolisian berhasil memulangkan kembali barang curian. Tanpa membayar tebusan.

7. Amerika Serikat: Maret 1990

Pada pukul 01:24, yaitu pagi hari setelah St Patrick's Day, dua laki-laki berseragam polisi mengetuk pada sebuah pintu samping Museum Isabella Stewart Gardner di Boston dan mengaku adanya laporan ‘kegaduhan' di lokasi itu. Petugas satpam mempersilakan mereka masuk tetapi dia malah langsung diborgol dan kemudian disekap di ruang bawah tanah. Karya yang digondol para pencuri meliputi Konser karya Vermeer, Kristus dalam Badai di Atas Danau Galilea karya Rembrandt (satu-satunya lukisan pemandangan laut maestro Belanda itu), Chez Tortoni karya Manet, lima lukisan Degas, dan sejumlah pernak-pernik seperti cawan perunggu Tiongkok dan tiang panji-panji dari zaman Napoleon. Namun, para pencuri tidak menyentuh lukisan zaman Renaisans, seperti Eropa karya Titian (karya paling berharga museum itu).

'Kristus dalam Badai di Atas Danau Galilea' karya Rembrandt.
Masih juga hilang...
Total nilai gedoran diperkirakan mencapai $ 300 juta. Pada 1997, kala penyelidikan tengah mengalami jalan buntu, pihak museum menaikkan hadiah uang dari $ 1 juta ke $ 5 juta. Langkah itu lantas mengundang munculnya banyak pemberi info, termasuk di antaranya seorang diler barang antik asal Boston, William P. Youngworth III. Youngworth agak kurang jelas juntrungannya tetapi dia berhasil meraih perhatian begitu dia menghubungi Tom Mashberg, seorang wartawan Boston Herald, dan mengaku bahwa dia dan Myles Connor, yang juga berlatar belakang kurang jelas, sanggup mengupayakan pemulangan barang gedoran itu. Harga dia: kekebalan bagi diri dia, pembebasan Connor dari penjara, dan hadiah uang itu. Pada saat perampokan Gardner berlangsung Connor tengah meringkuk di penjara––lantaran kasus pencurian seni yang berbeda––tetapi dia mengaku bisa melacak barang curian itu apabila dia dibebaskan. Kecurigaan tentu saja muncul. Kemudian Mashberg mendapat panggilan telepon yang berujung dengan suatu perjalanan malam ke sebuah gudang tempat dia––di bawah temaram lampu senter––ditunjukkan lukisan yang diyakini adalah Kristus dalam Badai di Atas Danau Galilea-nya Rembrandt. Dia kemudian dibekali sejumlah serpihan cat, yang konon dicongkel dari lukisan itu. Namun, serpihan ternyata tidak berasal dari lukisan Rembrandt itu. Jaksa Amerika Serikat menuntut bahwa salah satu lukisan dipulangkan saja sebagai bukti bahwa barang curian betul ada pada pihak pengirim serpihan cat tetapi hal itu tidak ditanggapi dan perundingan pun menjadi mentah. Connor kini sudah bebas tetapi koleksi barang seni itu masih juga hilang.

8. Kuwait: Agustus 1990

Museum Nasional Kuwait dan Dar al-Athat al-Islamiyya (Balai Baharian Islami) dijarah selama pendudukan tujuh bulan oleh Irak. Bangunan-bangunan itu dibumihanguskan. Kedua museum tersebut menyimpan salah satu koleksi seni islami terbaik dunia yang oleh keluarga al Sabah dari Kuwait dihimpun selama 1970-an dan 1980-an. Kurang lebih 20.000 barang koleksi––termasuk senjata, zirah, keramik, tembikar, segel, dan barang seni hiasan dari Persia kuno, Mesir Mamluk, dan kaisar-kaisar Mughal di India dan Kuwait dari Zaman Perunggu––dimuat ke dalam peti-peti dan oleh tujuh belas truk gandeng dibawa pergi ke Museum Nasional Irak di Baghad.

Harapan bahwa koleksi tersebut suatu hari bisa dipulangkan sempat cukup tipis (mungkin dengan cara dibeli secara ketengan pada pasar gelap) tetapi sebuah tim kurator tiba di Baghdad enam bulan setelah gencatan senjata dan antara 16 September dan 20 Oktober 1991 kurang lebih 16.000 barang koleksi berhasil dipulangkan.

Pencurian seni massal berdukungan negara itu mengingatkan pada aksi para penakluk zaman dahulu, seperti mereka pada zaman monarki Eropa dan Napoleon. Dan niat Saddam––seperti halnya Hitler––melangkau sekadar tujuan melakukan perampasan. Dia berniat menghapus jati diri sejarah dan budaya Kuwait.

9. Belanda: April 1991

'Ladang Gandum dan Burung Gagak' karya Van Gogh.
Dalam dunia hitam karya seni biasanya menjadi cagaran.
Empat orang Belanda ditahan lantaran merampok Stedelijk Museum di Amsterdam dan menggondol tidak kurang dari dua puluh lukisan Van Gogh. Semuanya ditemukan kembali dalam tempo satu jam. Pihak kepolisian meyakini bahwa apabila perampokan berhasil tidak akan ada permintaan uang tebusan. Kanvas-kanvas itu bakal dijadikan instrumen keuangan pada ekonomi hitam global.

Tiga di antara lukisan itu, termasuk salah satu lukisan visioner pemungkas Van Gogh––Ladang Gandum dan Burung Gagak––kembali dalam kondisi rusak berat. Karena lukisan yang dicuri biasanya pulang dalam keadaan baik, sering dilupakan bahwa sesungguhnya ia adalah benda yang ringkih. Kasus ini menjadi pengingat yang menohok akan hal itu.

10. Swedia: Desember 2000

'Warga Muda Paris' karya Renoir.
Cara para pelakunya melarikan diri mirip adegan film laga.
Pada pengujung Desember, beberapa menit menjelang jam tutup seorang laki-laki melangkah masuk ke dalam Musem Nasional di Stockholm sembari menenteng sebuah senapan mesin ringan. Begitu sampai di lobi dia menodongkannya ke satpam yang tidak bersenjata itu sementara dua kawannya, yang sudah berada di dalam, mencuri sebuah potret diri Rembrandt dan dua lukisan karya Renoir, yaitu Warga Muda Paris dan Perbincangan, di lantai dua. Pada saat keluar mereka menaburi lantai dengan paku sebelum kabur dengan menaiki perahu motor.

Mereka lantas mendekati seorang pengacara yang menyampaikan tuntutan tebusan sebesar $ 10 juta per lukisan. Pihak kepolisian meminta foto-foto lukisan. Foto-fotonya ternyata meyakinkan dan polisi sontak menuntut si pengacara membuka jati diri para pelaku. Si pengacara menolak atas dasar kerahasiaan dan bersikeras bahwasanya dia ‘tidak telah berbuat salah' lantaran tidak meminta uang komisi dari para pelaku. Akan tetapi, tetap saja dia diperlakukan sebagai tersangka. Delapan orang ditahan dan surat perintah untuk penahanan orang kesembilan telah diterbitkan. Namun, sampai kini lukisan-lukisannya masih juga raib.

Bagian pertama tulisan di atas dapat dibaca di sini.


Novel 'Palsu' karya Elvin Post.
Palsu
Tulisan di atas diturunkan dalam rangka akan terbitnya Palsu, edisi bahasa Indonesia thriller novelis Belanda Elvin Post. Ikuti perkembangannya pada akun Twitter Pionir Books (@PionirBooks) lewat tagar #PalsuNovelElvinPost.

26 September 2016

A Stupid Open Letter to Geert Wilders Pt 2

September 26, 2016


Dear Mr. Geert Wilders,

A STUPID OPEN LETTER TO GEERT WILDERS PT 2

It was with great interest that I read your preliminary election program for the forthcoming elections in the Netherlands, a one-pager you announced through social media in late August, and also the research report that you commissioned that made a case for direct democracy in the Netherlands along the lines of the Swiss model, a more involved piece that you announced through social media in mid September.

The program, however, is tilting at windmills. It seeks to control things it cannot control. It's aware of it too, hence the use of forceful language. It seeks to transform heterogeneity into homogeneity. Is that though what the purpose is of a nation state? Is that how you think a nation state can justify its presence?

The report, meanwhile, calls on the Swiss model. Models can be very useful indeed: they simplify things to enable us to see the forest for the trees. In the report, the Swiss model is treated as a benchmark. Not that I have anything against Switzerland but what makes that country so special? How sure are the authors of the report that Switzerland cuts the mustard vis-à-vis answering the questions of what the purpose of the Netherlands is and how the Netherlands is supposed to justify itself as a nation state in this day and age?

Both documents come over as you trying to find a way to ensure that each year Santa will give you the exact presents that you want for Christmas. To do so you scoured every God-fearing country in the world in the hope of finding one that seems to have cracked the secret.

Kids are allowed to do that but you're a grown-up. Grown-ups know Santa doesn't exist. As a grown-up it's the moral behind the myth and not the presents that counts.

Enclosed please find something that you may find interesting. Thank you for your time.


Sincerely,

Laurens Sipahelut
Translator


Enclosure: 10 Questions for Multiculturalists: Answered

cc: Mr. Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands




Kekekalan Laten Fasisme
Kekekalan Laten Fasisme
Kekekalan Laten Fasisme karya Rob Riemen diluncurkan pada Sabtu, 4 Juni 2016, di Toko Buku Gunung Agung Margocity, Depok, dengan menghadirkan narasumber Rocky Gerung (FIB UI). Buku dapat dibeli pada Toko Buku Gunung Agung cabang:
  • Jakarta Pusat (Atrium, Kwitang 06, Kwitang 38)
  • Jakarta Barat (Trisakti)
  • Jakarta Timur (Arion, Kramat Jati, Pondok Gede, Tamini Square)
  • Jakarta Selatan (Blok M Plaza, Senayan City)
  • Tangerang Selatan (BSD)
  • Tangerang (Tangcity Mall)
  • Bandung (BIP)
  • Bekasi (Bekasi CyberPark)
  • Depok (Margo City)
  • Semarang (Citraland Semarang, Paragon Mall)
  • Surabaya (Galaxy Surabaya, Surabaya Delta)
  • Denpasar (LIBBI Denpasar)

10 Questions for Multiculturalists: Answered

This is a response to a YouTube video made by a Finnish vlogger that goes by the name of The Swan of Tuonela. In the video she poses ten questions to multiculturalists in the context of the ongoing migrant crisis in Europe. The video can be viewed at https://youtu.be/RBEAcoIbt6Y.

I'm not a multiculturalist though my coming over as one is simply an effect of the way I view the world and because of that I think I still qualify to answer. To explain my world view and to address the questions I will have to build a model that combines Plato's allegory of the cave, Bill Murray's 1993 movie Groundhog Day, and PoliticalCompass.org's political chart. It will set an objective benchmark against which subjective notions can be measured against.

Let's start with the first component: Plato's allegory of the cave. The allegory forms the model's metaphysical framework: it depicts the transformation of the desire-driven egoistic mindset, i.e. the prisoner chained to the wall of the cave, into a desire-free altruistic mindset, i.e. the prisoner that has been freed from the cave.

Its key idea: humankind's egoistic desires are played out in the physical world but, Plato says, that world is an illusion. The real world, he says, takes place between your ears. As a consequence, change cannot be brought about through the manipulation of things in the physical world; it can only be achieved through the mind. The prisoner that has been freed from the cave knows this to be true.

The second component, the Bill Murray movie, breaks down the metaphysical transformation into four desires the chained prisoner must see out before a breakout from the cave's confines is made possible. The desires are, from base to apex: survival, wealth, power, and knowledge.

Its key idea: Every person has to go through a progression of desires before a desire-free altruistic state of mind can be achieved.

The third and final component, the PoliticalCompass.org's political chart, links the metaphysical to the physical. It shows how the desires play out in the physical world with the desire for survival—the chart's social dimension—being represented by the Authoritarianism-Libertarianism y-axis and the desire for wealth—the chart's economic dimension—being represented by the Left-Right x-axis. The desire for power—politics—manipulates the axes not unlike a puppeteer operating a marionette using a control bar.

Its key idea: the people at PoliticalCompass.org brilliantly and astutely reduced the political system to a two-dimensional chart to give account for the social and economic dimensions of politics. It coincides with the progression of desires depicted in Groundhog Day though without acknowledging the desire for knowledge.

Plato making mention of the imperative for philosophers to become kings implies that an additional z-axis representing the desire for power needs to be added to the chart. This allows for the desire for knowledge—philosophy—instead of the desire for power—politics—to operate the control bar, i.e. rule by philosopher-kings instead of by politicians. Now let's assemble the model.

First I need to modify the cave's floor plan. Instead of having a single expanse I am going to put in a triangular (read: a two-dimensional pyramidical) structure to partition the space into four tiers with the widest section—the base—resting against the cave's wall and the narrowest section—the apex—pointing away from it. Each tier, from base to apex, represents a desire, i.e. survival (at the base), wealth, power, and then knowledge (at the apex). The triangle's tapering shape symbolizes the desires' hierarchical nature as the higher desires form an arch over the lower ones.

With the Bill Murray movie incorporated next I am going to incorporate the political chart but with the extra z-axis, and finish the model. The original two-dimensional chart allows for the expression of only the first three desires as it leaves the operation of the control bar to politics (the desire for power) by omitting philosophy (the desire for knowledge). In the cave, this would've had given us a three- instead of a four-tiered triangle but by having the latter in place humankind's desire for knowledge can now be accounted for.

In the original chart, both the axes represent scales extending between two extremes; Left-Right for the x-scale and Authoritarianism-Libertarianism for the y-axis. They point to dualism. What Left and Libertarianism have in common is they are both inclusive just as Right and Authoritarianism are exclusive. Thus the dualism pertains to inclusiveness and exclusiveness. I am going to apply the same idea to the z-axis (politics) and to the control bar, the desire for knowledge aka philosophy.

To incorporate the chart into the model I will only have to make the triangle dualistic in nature and to do so, while also taking into account the triangle's hierarchical nature, I will only have to concern myself with the apex because whatever goes down there will trickle down in an information cascade to the tiers below. So the top tier (philosophy) can be either inclusive ('I') or exclusive ('E') even as it assigns either an 'I' or an 'E' value to each of the other three tiers below it. To allow for all the possible permutations to play out, the apex needs to be given four 'I' and four 'E' values which it can then assign to itself and to the other three remaining tiers. Sixteen permutations are made possible this way:

(Philosophy, Politics, Economic Dimension, Social Dimension) OR (Control Bar, Z-Axis, X-Axis, Y-Axis)

 1. I,I,I,I  5. I,E,I,I  9. E,I,I,I  13. E,E,I,I
 2. I,I,I,E  6. I,E,I,E  10. E,I,I,E  14. E,E,I,E
 3. I,I,E,I  7. I,E,E,I  11. E,I,E,I  15. E,E,E,I
 4. I,I,E,E  8. I,E,E,E  12. E,I,E,E  16. E,E,E,E

Every person has a triangle in Plato's cave as does every group, people, or nation. A triangle's size is determined by the extent of influence the philosophy nested in its apex exercises in the physical world. Smaller triangles are superimposed over larger ones. The world's borders are not delineated by country but by philosophy and they may shift from time to time in a game of triangles.

As a philosophy cascades down a triangle, it manifests in ever more crude forms of expression. At its most crude it manifests as a physical structure. Back in the day people used to build cathedrals, today it's shopping malls: the larger the triangle the more ubiquitous its cathedrals of desires become.

Note that the cave's interior is a desire-driven and therefore an egoism-proper and therefore an exclusiveness-proper environment while its exterior is a desire-free and therefore an altruism-proper and therefore an inclusiveness-proper environment. As a result, inside the cave the 'E' value is a true value while the 'I' is a false value. By the same token, outside the cave the 'I' is the true value while the 'E' is a false one.

Thus expression of the 'I' value inside the cave is but a simulated one, an instance of such principles as the Golden Rule in action. The default expression is that of the 'E' value. But human beings have an intuitive yearning to evolve and to express the true 'I' value, i.e. to step outside of the darkness of the cave and into the bright light of the open expanse. Thus our obsession with religion and spirituality and our interpreting of them in an exoteric light, i.e. as an expression of the false 'I' value. Outside the cave the interpretation becomes esoteric in nature, meaning that of the true 'I' value.

According to Plato, the most important purpose in life should be to look past the veil of illusion and to perceive the true reality, something that can apply to individuals (i.e. on a micro scale) and to communities or nations or indeed the whole world (i.e. on a macro scale) alike. However, it is an effort that is as difficult as it is important as it requires a person to have quenched all the egoistic desires save the one for knowledge. The desire for knowledge will then fuel that person's search for answers to the Big Questions, which most certainly will constantly involve putting cherished beliefs through the wringer. And even then true reality will not dawn unless the notion of past and future is quieted and the now is perceived. It is, however, possible to help the process along by advancing inclusive philosophies, politics, economic policies, and social policies (I,I,I,I). Such endeavor should be in fact the most important thing a nation state could do to justify its existence.

On to the questions:

1. What is the acceptable price tag for your multicultural dream? How many crime and terrorism victims would it take for you to say the price is too high?
It's not a dream but rather a Platonic illusion. What you call multiculturalism cannot be made to work through the manipulation of the physical world because doing so would only highlight existing superficial differences. Your referring to it as multiculturalism attests to this: it implies the bringing together of different cultures. Inside the cave, differences are perceived as a threat to the quenching of egoistic desires. Clashes will ensue. To make multiculturalism work you will have to transform differentness into sameness.

Metaphysically speaking, culture can be thought of as an aggregate of expressions under the progression of desires, i.e. the ways in which people act out their carnal and spiritual needs and everything in between. Inside the cave, every person has desires and must act these out either inclusively or exclusively. That's a trait shared by everyone. A culture is a combined expression of a group of people acting out their desires. But these desires must be acted out in a fashion that allows you to move forward under the progression of desires.

The acceptable price tag would be if multiculturalism allows all groups to move forward under the progression of desires. The price would be too high if even only one group stagnates, not to mention regresses, under the progression of desires.

Having said that, it is your job as an individual to assure that you keep moving forward (you make your own luck, as the saying goes). The only way I know you can achieve that is by cultivating an understanding of yourself as a human being. You understand yourself, you understand everyone, and differentness is transformed. The job of the nation state is to see to it that its nation moves forward under the progression of desires. It can do so with the tools that it has at its disposal, e.g. the education system.

2. Why is it only us who need multiculturalism? Shouldn't strict monocultures such as Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, or Afghanistan need it much more?
The question is an expression of grievance as you perceive that your need to quench your egoistic desires has been compromised. But by hitting out at the world you're tilting at windmills. Nobody needs multiculturalism. Not in the cave anyway. You may don't want those migrants in your country but how sure are you that they want to be there in the first place? The way I see it, exclusive policies have resulted in those migrants regressing to the desire for survival. And to make matters worse, host communities have come to perceive these people as a threat to their own desire for survival. If the nation state does not take due action fast, i.e. by tending to the desire for survival of both sides, things can get ugly. Think fascism.

What the nation state can do at this instance, however, is to make changes in the physical world only, which don't count as real changes. Real change, as I have mentioned, can only be brought about in the mind and that is up to each person individually. You make your own luck.

3. Did you end up with your ideology by evaluating arguments and evidence, or do you find yourself believing in multiculturalism in spite of them?
I ended up with my world view by evaluating personal life experiences which I then applied to more general contexts.

4. Do you believe that any culture or religion no matter how anti-liberal or anti-democratic is suiting material for peaceful coexistence in a multicultural society?
Peaceful coexistence in a multicultural society can only take place if each of the components making up the melting pot—no matter how exclusive some may be—are allowed to progress along the progression of desires. The main responsibility to progress, however, lies with you. Think of what Plato said about the most important purpose in life.

5. If all cultures are equally good why is it only our culture that needs changing?
Cultures that allow for progress along the progression of desires inside the cave are all equally good. Cultures that allow you to escape the confines of the cave are, however, better. If your culture must change, change for the better although, and at this point you may start to see a pattern developing, it's much more conceivable for you yourself to change and in so doing to become the change.

6. Why does racism stop being a huge problem when Iraqis commit racist hate crimes at 24 times the rate local white people do and Somalis at 36 times the rate?
It doesn't and you know it.

7. How does importing intolerant bigoted people help to create a more tolerant modern society?
tolerate
· v.
1 allow the existence or occurrence of (something that one dislikes or disagrees with) without interference.
2 endure (someone or something unpleasant) with forbearance.
Concise Oxford Dictionary—Tenth Edition

Next question, please.

8. Is striving for multiculture worth making our countries much more dangerous and scary places for women?
Even more dangerous and scary than women? I'm sorry, I'm only half kidding.

9. What are the great benefits of multiculture that outweigh all the harm on safety, economics, and social cohesion?
Changes for the better in the corridors of power and in the hallways of excellence.

10. Why do you believe an ideology that has never worked anyway could work in your country now?
I'm positive it's capitalism you're talking about.


Laurens Sipahelut
Tangerang, 25 September 2016




Kekekalan Laten Fasisme
Kekekalan Laten Fasisme
Kekekalan Laten Fasisme karya Rob Riemen diluncurkan pada Sabtu, 4 Juni 2016, di Toko Buku Gunung Agung Margocity, Depok, dengan menghadirkan narasumber Rocky Gerung (FIB UI). Buku dapat dibeli pada Toko Buku Gunung Agung cabang:
  • Jakarta Pusat (Atrium, Kwitang 06, Kwitang 38)
  • Jakarta Barat (Trisakti)
  • Jakarta Timur (Arion, Kramat Jati, Pondok Gede, Tamini Square)
  • Jakarta Selatan (Blok M Plaza, Senayan City)
  • Tangerang Selatan (BSD)
  • Tangerang (Tangcity Mall)
  • Bandung (BIP)
  • Bekasi (Bekasi CyberPark)
  • Depok (Margo City)
  • Semarang (Citraland Semarang, Paragon Mall)
  • Surabaya (Galaxy Surabaya, Surabaya Delta)
  • Denpasar (LIBBI Denpasar)

17 September 2016

10 Kasus Pencurian Seni Terbesar Abad ke-20 (Bagian I)

Pencurian Mona Lisa dari Museum Louvre di Paris pada 1911 dianggap sebagai pencurian seni besar pertama abad ke-20. Sejak itu, ribuan karya seni, besar maupun kecil, hilang dicuri baik sebagai akibat dari ulah pencuri profesional maupun sebagai akibat dari perang.

Walaupun sebagian besar curian berhasil ditemukan kembali, banyak yang hingga kini masih raib. Hal itu bisa jadi menandakan betapa tidak bertanggung jawabnya ulah oknum-oknum kolektor tertentu ataupun betapa sulitnya pencuri menemukan pembeli.

Mungkin karena gabungan faktor kenekatan, uang dan keindahan, tetapi cerita pencurian seni acap diangkat ke layar lebar maupun ke halaman buku. Contoh, edisi bahasa Indonesia Vals beeld karya novelis Belanda Elvin Post yang akan terbit dari penerbit Pionir Books dengan judul Palsu, yang diilhami kisah nyata.

Berikut bagian pertama sepuluh kasus pencurian seni terbesar dunia abad ke-20 versi Forbes.com:

1. Inggris Raya: Agustus 1961

'Potret Adipati Wellington' karya Goya.
Dicuri oleh... Robin Hood.
Pada 1961, kolektor kaya raya Charles Wrightsman membeli lukisan Goya berjudul Potret Adipati Wellington seharga $ 392.000 dan dia berencana memboyongnya ke negara asal dia, Amerika Serikat. Begitu mengetahui niatnya tersebut masyarakat Inggris Raya merajuk sampai-sampai pemerintah memutuskan untuk membeli lukisan itu dengan harga beli tadi. Belum sampai tiga pekan menggantung di museum National Gallery, London, lukisan dicuri. Pelakunya menuntut tebusan sebesar harga lukisan yang, menurut pengakuannya, akan dia sumbangkan sebagai derma. Pemerintah bergeming.

Pada 1965, pencurinya mengirimkan sebuah nomor pengambilan barang kepada harian Daily Mirror di London dan pihak kepolisian menjemput lukisan itu di tempat penitipan bagasi sebuah stasiun kereta api. Enam pekan kemudian, pencurinya, yang bernama Kempton Bunton dan berprofesi sebagai pengemudi bus, menyerahkan diri. Dia berencana menggunakan tembusan untuk membayar langganan TV bagi mereka yang tidak berpunya. (Ternyata.) Bunton diganjar tiga bulan hukuman penjara.

2. Italia: Februari 1975

'Dera Kristus' karya Piero della Francesco.
Dipotong ke luar dari bingkai.
Italia, gudangnya seni yang ternyata juga menjadi rumah sejumlah mencit nakal. Ketika dua lukisan karya Piero della Francesco––Dera Kristus dan Madona Senigallia––dan sebuah lukisan karya Raphael––Si Bisu––dipotong ke luar dari bingkai dan dicuri dari Istana Keadipatian, Urbino, aksi itu dijuluki 'Kejahatan Seni Abad Ini'.

Tindak pidana tersebut murni bermotif uang. Para pelakunya kriminalis setempat yang berencana menjual curian mereka ke pasar internasional. Akan tetapi, seperti yang juga bakal didapati oleh pencuri seni lain sesudah mereka, bukanlah perkara mudah melego adikarya yang sudah langganan direproduksi oleh orang. Pada Maret 1976, ketiga lukisan itu ditemukan kembali tanpa kekurangan apa pun di Locarno, Swiss.

3. Prancis: November 1985

'Impresi, Soleil Levant' karya Monet.
Ulah... mafia Jepang?
Pencurian sembilan lukisan, termasuk Orang Mandi karya Renoir dan Impresi, Soleil Levant karya Monet, dari Museum Marmottan, Paris, berlangsung pada suatu Minggu. Pada awalnya, pihak kepolisian menaruh syak kepada kelompok radikal Action Direct. Akan tetapi, pada awal 1984 sejumlah lukisan juga pernah dicuri dari sebuah museum di luar Paris, yang berkat info seorang penadah berhasil ditemukan kembali di Jepang, yaitu di dalam tangan Shuinichi Fujikuma, seorang gangster. Yang ternyata juga menjadi otak perampokan Marmottan tadi. Buktinya, sebelum aksi Marmottan berlangsung dia sempat mengedarkan katalog sembilan lukisan yang tidak lama kemudian raib itu.

Pembatasan jangka waktu (statute of limitation) Jepang terkenal singkat dan kabar angin santer beredar bahwa mafia Jepang Yakuza telah berhasil menembus dunia seni. Namun, kenyataannya tidaklah sedahsyat itu.

Pada 1978, Fujikuma ditahan di Prancis karena kedapatan menyelundupkan 7,8 kilogram heroin. Pada saat menjalani hukuman lima tahun penjara dia berkenalan dengan Philippe Jamin dan Youssef Khimoun, dua anggota sindikat pencuri seni. Merekalah yang lantas menjalankan aksi pencurian itu atas nama Fujikuma. Pada akhirnya, lukisan-lukisan ditemukan kembali pada 1991 di Korsika. Barangnya terlalu panas, bahkan untuk Jepang.

4. Meksiko: Desember 1985

Artefak pra-Columbus.
Terlena.
Malam Natal. Satpam Museum Nasional Antropologi di Kota Meksiko delapan-delapannya tengah lena. Selain itu, sistem alarm sudah tiga tahun mati.

Satpam sif pagi, yang masuk pukul 08.00 pada keesokan harinya, yang pada akhirnya menyadari bahwa lempeng kaca telah diangkat dari atas tujuh lemari pajangan. Total 140 benda yang diambil, termasuk potongan-potongan batu giok dan emas dari seni pahat Maya, Aztec, Zapotec, dan Miztec. Kurator museum Felipe Solis memprakirakan bahwa, seandai ada pembeli, satu potongan itu saja––sebuah jambang menyerupai monyet––bisa laku di atas $ 20 juta.

Karena sebagian besar potongan tersebut berukuran kecil, semuanya muat di dalam dua buah koper. Terlepas dari ukuran, kasus itu tetap terhitung sebagai pencurian benda berharga terbesar yang pernah terjadi.

Pelajaran yang dipetik: (i) tingkat keamanan museum nasional, terutama di negara berkembang, sering tidak sebanding dengan isi museum dan (ii) pada saat Natal dan Tahun Baru ternyata tidak semua orang sedang berleha-leha di Meksiko.

5. Amerika Serikat: Februari 1988

'Ikan Pari dengan Keranjang Bawang Bombai' karya Chardin.
Koleksi awur.
Pembobolan Colnaghi’s (sebuah diler seni di London) cabang Manhattan yang berlokasi pada East 8th Street, terbilang cukup canggih. Pencurinya masuk lewat tingkap cahaya dan dengan bantuan tambang menurunkan diri sampai ke bawah. Akan tetapi, begitu di dalam, koleksi karya seni pilihan mereka berkesan agak mengawur walaupun dari ke-28 karya yang mereka bawa pergi dua adalah lukisan karya Fra Angelico––yang diasuransikan sebesar $ 4 juta–– dan satunya lagi adalah Ikan Pari dengan Keranjang Bawang Bombai karya Chardin. Hingga kini baru empat belas yang berhasil ditemukan kembali.

Barang gedoran itu (waktu itu) ditaksir bernilai antara $ 6 juta dan $ 10 juta, yang menjadikan aksi tersebut perampokan seni terbesar kota New York: bukti bahwa keuntungan dari merampok galeri swasta bisa menyamai perampokan museum.

Bagian kedua tulisan di atas dapat dibaca di sini.


Novel 'Palsu' karya Elvin Post.
Palsu
Tulisan di atas diturunkan dalam rangka akan terbitnya Palsu, edisi bahasa Indonesia thriller novelis Belanda Elvin Post. Ikuti perkembangannya pada akun Twitter Pionir Books (@PionirBooks) lewat tagar #PalsuNovelElvinPost.