Danish Museum Demands Repayment Of Rs 63 Lakh After Artist Delivers Blank Canvas – News18

Danish artist Jens Haaning has found himself in legal trouble after delivering two blank canvases titled, Take the Money and Run to the Kunsten Museum of Modern Art. The museum had provided him with approximately 534,000 Kroner (approximately Rs 63 lakh) to reproduce his earlier works involving currency notes, An Average Austrian Year Income and An Average Danish Annual Income, which displayed cash in Euros and Danish Kroner. In exchange, Haaning received a substantial amount, along with additional expenses. However, to everyone’s surprise, Haaning delivered empty frames, which were eventually displayed in the exhibition from September 2021 to January 2022. As Haaning failed to return the money after the exhibition ended, the museum authorities were left with no choice, and they filed a lawsuit against the artist.

Lasse Andersson, the director of the museum, shared his perspective on the unusual situation with the BBC. He admitted that the artist, “Stirred up my curatorial staff and he also stirred me up a bit, but I also had a laugh because it was really humoristic.” Andersson further highlighted that the money given to the artist should be returned as per their contract when the exhibition concluded and stated, “It’s the museum’s money and we have a contract saying that the money will be returned on 16 January.”

Meanwhile, Jens Haaning has made a firm decision to keep the money he received from the Kunsten Museum of Modern Art. He told Dr. Dk, “The work is that I have taken their money,” suggesting that this action is part of his artwork. He further encouraged others who might be facing similar working conditions to follow in his footsteps. Haaning asserted that recreating his previous artworks would have resulted in a financial loss of 25,000 Kroner (approximately Rs 1 lakh) for him.

He asked, “Why should we show a work that is about Denmark and Herning 11 years ago or one that is about Austria’s relationship with a bank 14 years ago?”

Contrary to Haaning’s claim, Lasse Andersson strongly disagreed with him that the museum had not agreed to fair compensation. He clarified that the museum had entered into an agreement with the Danish Artists’ Association, which had set fair payment standards for artists showing their work and claims Haaning has breached their agreement.

As per TV2 Nord, Jens Haaning will not be required to repay the full amount to the Kunsten Museum, as the court has deducted his artist’s fee from the total amount. The deduction was made because the museum displayed his blank art even though the banknotes were missing from the artwork. Additionally, Haaning is demanding compensation from the museum, alleging that the museum had violated his copyright by redistributing images of his work. He demanded 550,000 Kroner (approximately Rs 42 lakh), however, he did not succeed in the matter.