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‘Take the Money and Run’: Danish museum pays artist $84K — he delivers 2 blank canvases

‘Take the Money and Run’: Danish museum pays artist $84K — he delivers 2 blank canvases

Take the Money and Run

After a Danish museum loaned him $84,000 to incorporate in his commissioned artwork, a Danish artist produced two blank canvases titled "Take the Money and Run."

Jens Haaning was commissioned by the Kunsten Museum of Modern Art to reproduce two of his 2010 pieces, each of which portrayed the average income of Austrian and Danish inhabitants.

Lasse Andersson, the museum's director, told CBS News that in addition to personal pay, Haaning was given money for use in the artwork.

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The originals were fashioned from Danish krone and euro banknotes that were on display.

They were arranged in a frame to reflect the average annual income of Danes and Austrians, which totaled roughly $84,000.

Lasse Andersson, director of the Kunsten museum in Aalborg, Denmark, where the work was commissioned, warned that if artist Jens Haaning does not return the money, which was material for the art rather than a payment, he could be in breach of contract.

(With inputs from agencies)