Danish museum wants artist to pay back money after making blank canvas artwork entitled Take the Money and Run

Virgin Radio

1 Oct 2021, 10:00

This sounds like another case of The Emperor's New Clothes. A Danish museum has requested artist Jens Haaning pay back 534,000 kroner (around £61,000) after being given cash to recreate old artworks using banknotes. But the end products were blank canvasses called Take the Money and Run.

Commissioned by the Kunsten Museum, the artist was asked to reproduce two of his works representing the annual salary in Denmark and Austria - but the artist took the money and came up with blank canvasses.

Lasse Andersson, director of the museum, told BBC's Newsday: "He stirred up my curatorial staff and he also stirred me up a bit, but I also had a laugh because it was really humoristic.

"It's the museum's money and we have a contract saying that the money will be back on 16 January."

Artist Haaning isn't so sure. He told dr.dk: "The work is that I have taken their money.

"I encourage other people who have just as miserable working conditions as me to do the same," he said and insisted that recreating his past art would have cost him 25,000 kroner (£2,885).

Mr Andersson told the BBC: "We just signed up for an agreement with the Danish artists association that raises what artists are paid when they are exhibiting.

"I think Jens has kind of broken the bargain."