The judge ordered Danish artist Jens Hanning to return €66,000 to the Aalborg Art Museum. Hanning received funds to create two artworks, but was handed blank canvases. He named them Take the money and run away (Take the money and run away).
Hanning’s task was to depict in the two artworks the difference between salaries in Austria and Denmark. For this he received 70 thousand euros in cash from the museum. This money will be distributed among the panels and one panel will be larger than the other. Instead, he handed Hanning blank plates. The judge has now decided that Hanning must repay the amount, minus the costs incurred and the artist’s fee.
The museum director previously said he laughed out loud when he saw the blank paintings for the first time in 2021. He hung them in the museum anyway, because of the “humorous approach” and because they reflect “how we appreciate work.”
However, the manager wanted the money back. Hanning told the channel on Monday TV2 Nord That the museum earned “a lot more” than it did because of all the publicity.
This is not the first time an empty canvas has caused a stir. In 1951, American artist Robert Rauschenberg caused a sensation with his painting White boards (White Paintings), a series of paintings on which he applied white paint using a paint roller.
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