The Kunsten Museum of Modern Art in Denmark gave artist Jens Haaning a half-million kroner to use to re-create two of his older pieces that were made with cash. (Google Street View), courtesy of the Washington Post

By NOAH BECKER September, 2021

A friend forwarded me an article from the Washington Post about an artist who was lent $84,000 by a museum for his work. Thought it was hilarious, so I'm sharing it with you.

Apparently the artist kept the cash and turned the act of keeping the cash into a conceptual work.

The Washington Post article reads: 

When the staff at Kunsten Museum of Modern Art in ​​northern Denmark opened boxes last week from artist Jens Haaning, they expected to see pieces featuring the half-million kroner they lent him for the works of art, the director told a Danish radio show host.

Instead, the museum — which had commissioned Haaning to re-create two of his older pieces that were made with cash — found two empty frames.

The new name for the artwork: “Take the Money and Run.”

Now, the museum in ​​Aalborg, Denmark, is accusing him of breaking their legal agreement and demanding the artist return the 534,000 kroner, the equivalent of over $84,000. 

Read the complete article in the Washington Post WM