The artist was loaned big bucks to recreate his old artworks but took the cash and submitted blank canvases titled Take the Money and Run.
The Kunsten Museum in Aalborg loaned 534,000 kroner ($116,106) to Jens Haaning for the recreation of two original artworks.
The task was to use the cash to represent the annual salary in Denmark and Austria. Hanning understood the assignment…maybe a little too well…
The Kunsten Museum director Lasse Andersson reported,
“Two days before the opening of the exhibition we got an email from Jens telling us he won’t be showing the works we agreed on.”
I’m sure Andersson was caught by surprise when the two blank canvases titled Take the Money and Run were delivered to the premises.
Art is subjective, right?
Despite the unexpected response, Andersson laughed it off and decided to exhibit the art in the museum’s exhibition that premiered on September 24.
Like I said, art is subjective… and ironic.
Andersson said the artworks have a “humoristic approach” and are “a reflection on how we value work”.
Defending his choice to keep the money, Haaning, 56, said, “the artwork is essentially about the working conditions of artists,”
“It is a statement saying that we also have the responsibility of questioning the structures that we are part of. And if these structures are completely unreasonable, we must break with them,” he said in a press release.
Indulging in the humour of the art but keeping it strictly business, Andersson has indicated that Haaning’s choice to keep the money would only last until the end of the exhibition.
“If the money is not returned on January 16 as agreed, we will take the necessary steps to ensure that Jens Haaning complies with his contract,” Andersson said.
For the original commission, Haaning received 10,000 kroner for the art (roughly $2166) in addition to an exhibition bonus.
A True Artist.#JensHaaning
— Med (@Medicayy) September 29, 2021
