Artist 'tricks' museum by making empty painting

Now, after nearly two years of litigation, a Copenhagen court ruled earlier this week that the artist must return nearly all of the cash to the museum.

In 2021, the Kunsten Museum of Modern Art in Aalborg, Denmark, lent Haaning the money to create updated versions of two previous works: paintings filled with banknotes depicting the average annual salary of an Austrian and a Danish person in an exhibition about the future of workers.

A woman stands in front of an empty painting hanging at the Kunsten Museum in Aalborg, Denmark

However, Jens Haaning sent the museum two blank paintings titled Take the Money and Run , saying he created new "better" works to fit the theme of the exhibition.

The artist who came up with the idea said the piece was intended as a commentary on low wages and that his breach of contract was part of the work.

"From my artistic perspective, I see that I can create a much better work than they could ever imagine. I don't see myself stealing money… I create a work of art, maybe 10 or 100 times better than what was intended," Haaning told CNN at the time.

Haaning added that the new artwork is intended to make people reflect on social structures and institutions such as religion and marriage. “And if necessary… take the money and run,” he added.

Previously, the Kunsten Museum exhibited the artwork Average Income in Austria in 2007

The Kunsten Museum of Modern Art still displays two of Haaning's blank paintings, along with a printout of an email in which he explains his actions.

Haaning's empty paintings are part of a controversial genre of work that questions the value of art.

Many installation artists had come up with strange ideas before: Maurizio Cattelan glued a banana to a wall, Banksy tore up a painting at auction. In 1958, conceptual artist Yves Klein displayed an empty room to thousands of people.

But regardless of the work's intentions, the Copenhagen City Court ruled against Haaning, saying he was "obligated" to return the borrowed cash, minus only the exhibition fee of 40,000 krone ($5,730), and his own fee of 10,000 krone.

The court said Take the Money and Run was “deficient” in its contract with the Kunsten Museum because it agreed to deliver two different works. The ruling also dismissed Haaning’s counterclaim – which alleged that the museum had infringed on the work’s copyright. Meanwhile, the artist was ordered to pay the costs of the proceedings.

Kunsten Museum of Modern Art

In an emailed statement to CNN after the ruling, Kunsten Museum director Lasse Andersson said the museum would wait to see if Jens Haaning appealed the decision before commenting. Haaning did not respond to a request for comment.

The Kunsten Museum is presenting Haaning's new artwork as part of the exhibition Work it Out , which runs from September 2021 to January 2022.

At the time, Andersson told CNN that the work raised important questions: "Do we have to work to earn money, or can we just take it? Why do we go to work? All of this makes us start to reflect on the cultural habits of the society we are a part of. And it also applies to the question: are artists paid enough for what they do?"

Andersson also said the museum stands by its agreements and always respects contracts and pays artists reasonable fees.

Meanwhile, Haaning argued that the 10,000 krone ($1,571) paid to him by the museum to cover framing and delivery would leave him out of pocket due to the cost of the workshop and staff salaries.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/nghe-si-dan-mach-jens-haaning-lua-bao-tang-khi-lam-buc-tranh-trong-rong-185230923102800558.htm