Last year, the Danish Art Museum Kunsten in Aalborg lent 532,549 Danish kroner to the artist Jens Haaning. The money was intended for a work of art where two glass frames are to be filled with banknotes.
But Haaning envisioned another solution, and has chosen to keep the money himself.
Instead of creating the artwork, Haaning created a new work entitled: “Take the Money And Run”. That was exactly what he did; took the money and ran.
According to Haaning, the whole point of the work was that half a million was missing.
Trick around: Half a million disappeared
Refuses to pay back
Haaning believes the work is a protest against the salary the museum offered him for the job he did. He has said it is inappropriate to repay the money to the museum.
– I do not pay the money back under any circumstances, Haaning says DR.
Gives Dagbladet covered the case in September, there was a clear speech from the director of Kunsten in Aalborg, Lasse Andersson:
– No, he should not have the money, because it was not part of the agreement, Andersson told Dagbladet.
Andersson also denied that Kunsten i Aalborg had not offered Haaning a fair payment.
– Jens gets a viewing fee, which we apply for from the state, he gets 10,000 kroner according to the contract, and then we cover expenses up to 6,000 euros, Andersson said.
– They did not want me
