Museum Theft

and you leave behind you a heroic
trail of desolation



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The Feather Thief (Kirk Wallace Johnson, 2018)
Wallace and Gromit: The Wrong Trousers (1993)

Music Used: Beethoven: Symphony No.7 in A major op.92 - II Allegretto, Invisible Inc: Mission Select, Nier Automata: Forest Kingdom and Peaceful Sleep (Music Box), Roller Coaster Tycoon 2: Main Theme, Max Payne 3: FUTURE, World of Goo: Burning Man, Are You Coming Home Soon Love MOM

[lemonlordminecraft]

"You stole hundreds of pieces of art spanning thousands of years of human history? Why?"
"I wanted... hmm... fancy attic."

[sargecadt]

That part about the paintings burning caused me physical pain.

[thundercocku]

"and she SET THEM ON FIRE"
i physically flinched from shock

[bettschwere]

the bird theft story is so whimsical and silly and so infuriating at the same time it should be impossible.

[ParadoxGavel]

As a zoologist, the first section about the last remaining specimens of these extinct birds on earth being stolen and torn apart because one teenager wanted to be The World's Most Special Boy at lure-making and flute-playing makes my blood absolutely boil.

[madskatz]

there is a deep sense of profound (sometimes selfish) loss when hearing about great works of art or architecture that were needlessly destroyed and the the knowledge that it would be impossible to replace (and that _i_ - along w every one else on earth - will no longer be able to see). truly terrifying because it feels like it should be something eternal and a monument to humanity, but instead fell victim to the worst parts of it. thank you for this video confronting this loss, i was very moved by it.

[sentientblender]

Can we talk for a moment about how refreshing it is to shake off the notion that caring about art is somehow weak that looms over a lot of the internet? Having someone on youtube who embraces discussion of art like this without drowning it in fifteen layers of irony and anti-intellectualism is an absolute breath of fresh air.

Thanks for doing what you do, Jacob.

[h.j.froehlich]

Every time I think of the flyfishing lure story, I feel like it's a Wes Anderson movie waiting to happen.

[catdunkley]

The bronzes are so much worse when you realize (like many pieces of indigenous art) that removing it from context means that it’s meaning is, in part, gone. They were shuffled up in a way that we may never be able to untangle changing what they mean forever. And unfortunately this happens with a lot of wall and floor mosaics especially where orientation that is often super important is just lost. It’s so sad and frustrating.

[artsycandy]

I didn’t know about Benin being such a lucrative kingdom. A lot of people are saying how the paintings being burnt hurt, and as an art history specialist and artist it did, but the loss of an entire part of a country’s people and history over nothing is genuinely disturbing. And that line at the end sent me down a spiral omfg.

[dylanchouinard]

I legitimately said ‘No’ to myself when I heard what had happened to those paintings. It took everything in me to not shout or scream at the destruction. How could someone just casually destroy something so beautiful, even if it was incriminating, peacefully handing them back to the police could have shortened any sentences!

[man_with_hat]

This video legit breaks my heart
Hearing the paintings were burned is more painful than a kick in the balls

[SeaMager]

The bird thief story really got my blood boiling the most out of the three. All Edwin Rist got was essentially a slap on the rist. A huge fine to be sure, but only a 12 month sentence? Plus he was able to still get his diploma?
This man destroyed knowledge, science, and creatures getting rarer by the minute. Not only that but he walked away with dozens of specimens still missing, or cut to pieces for a hobby.
I just can't process some of this madness anymore.

[brutusmagnuson]

What's also sad is that every time I talk about the accomplishments of northern Native American peoples (including the Cahokians, who basically built a proto-Mall of America) or people in west and central Africa, people either have no idea what I'm talking about, think I'm making things up, or accuse me of rewriting history. The ravaging of history over the past 200 years is truly heartbreaking.

[r.j.penfold]

The first two stories had my blood boiling but the last one hust filled me with a sorrow I haven't felt in a while. Until the "we're loaning you guys your own property" and then I was pissed again.

[elliotht]

I really appreciate how you're so sincere about everything, and you obviously have real emotions about what you're talking about. I mean I love detached irony once and a while, but its so refreshing to get away from that. It feels like a lot of folks shy away from emotional honesty because they think its corny or whatever, but it's something I think we really need to return to.

[SendyTheEndless]

That "ProjectnamefinalFINAL" really hit home

[HilariouslyScary]

I love how genuinely angry you seem in these videos. That's kinda a weird sentence, but it makes the video so much more powerful. You really have a mastery of presenting information in a way that feels effective but maintains a clear narrative. If you just said, "This guy stole a bunch of valuable art and when he got caught, his mom destroyed it all." I would feel bad, but it wouldn't have the same impact as 13:03. That just sends chills down my spine! Excellent video as always. I'm really excited to see more from you in the future!

[louisebean]

The story about the stolen birds and the loss of scientific knowledge reminds me of the story of icthyologist David Starr Jordan, who spent a life time collecting, studying, and sorting fish specimen only to have the collection shattered and mutilated in an earthquake. Something about the permanent loss of a holotype of a species, especially one that is endangered or extinct, makes my stomach churn and my heart heavy. It's hard not to painfully wonder what knowledge was stored by lost collections like David Starr Jordan's or the ornithology department of the British Museum or even the civilization of Benin and how it it's continued existence might have benefited humanity with it's insight

[zwozo]

Your comparison of Benin to Atlantis was so funny because reminded me of something I learned in an African art history class. When Europeans discovered the very realistic bronze head sculptures from Ife (also in Nigeria, and also very close to the Kingdom of Benin) they were in such disbelief that an African culture could create art like that that they insisted it must've been made by some lost Greek colony in Africa... and also that this lost Greek colony was the place that inspired the legend of Atlantis.

(To anyone reading this: look up the bronze heads from Ife, they're absolutely beautiful)