A Blank Canvas in a Museum?

Did you know two blank canvases were sold for $84,000? That’s right! In 2021, Danish artist Jens Haaning was given $84,000 to create an art piece on the theme of “poor work wages” in Europe. The Kunsten Museum of Modern Art was surprised to receive two blank canvases titled “Take the Money and Run” but accepted and displayed them anyway, because hey, they were a modern art museum. Unfortunately, a court in Copenhagen, Denmark ruled that Haaning must repay the museum most of what he was paid plus legal fees. I guess blank canvases don’t cover legal bills!

For this piece, I interviewed your fellow art teachers (including one from the upper school) and even surveyed the whole middle school with a form in the Daily to gather various thoughts from across the board. 

Ms. Granger came to Haaning’s defense, arguing that “Art is meant to be groundbreaking and change the way people think. It isn’t always about art pretty to hang on a wall, art is meant to push people's boundaries.” Ms. Granger further explained that she thinks Haaning shouldn’t have to repay the museum because his blank canvases are what he was trying to express as poor work wages and the value of what art can be. 

Ms. Granger also compared Haaning’s work to Jackson Pollock’s abstract art in the 1950s. Pollock’s technique was to pour loads of paint buckets onto a canvas. People at the time didn’t appreciate his abstract art and technique, but little did they know the thought and planning behind it.

Ms. Granger's point is that for both artists, one audience shouldn’t get to decide if their pieces are good or not. Her main idea is that art isn’t always meant to please someone or be pretty; art is about expressing something, anything, which doesn’t have to be for the eye of others.

Ms. Giacolino says it's the museum's mistake, and Haaning shouldn’t have to pay the museum back. He added value to the canvas and followed the given prompt. Attaching everyday objects to canvases has always been around; the artist just did the same thing with adding cash to canvas and is receiving backlash. It was art to the artist, so why should he have to pay them back for his artwork?

Mr. Cook (upper school painting & drawing teacher) was a bit more conflicted. He agreed that Haaning’s work was “definitely art,” but added, “I’m divided if he should have to repay. He probably should—but the publicity he gained was worth it.”

Mr. Cook went on to mention Marcel Duchamp’s controversial art piece, “Fountain,” a literal urinal displayed in a gallery in 1917. The viewers of this art piece started to question what art is. He further explained that viewers often distrust modern artists, although modern art is a very broad category. Modern artists often have complex ways of expressing themselves while viewers try to take advantage of the art. 

According to Mr. Cook, it’s really important to know the difference between different types of art and who has a say on an artist’s piece. Different types of art are meant to evoke different emotions and ideas. One type might be known for being pleasing to everyone. A pretty sunset painting, for example, would be a favorite. On the other hand, two blank canvases in the modern art industry caused many disappointments for its viewers. Mr. Cook reiterated once more that people can’t choose who decides if something can be art, for any kind of category of art.

These two generalizations are just like movies, as Mr. Cook described them. Some movie viewers have a narrower view of which movies are art; some like only specific types of movies, like horror or comedy, while others like a variety of movies. All of which are fine! Different art types have different functions. Some imply humor and some imply deeper and more complicated thoughts. 

Another example that Mr. Cook gave was an art viewer's thought process about a painting of a shoe versus a literal shoe in a museum. To some people, one would belong in a museum while the other belongs in a house, but both have a story if they are considered art to the artist.

Mr. Cook explained that Haaning’s blank canvases opened up many doors to questions. The story of the blank canvas evoked surprise, controversy, and curiosity. Mr. Cook thinks this is what Haaning wanted with his art pieces, which is the strong reaction he got. Although Mr. Cook wouldn’t want two blank canvases in his living room, he agreed it is a very clever piece of art. 

The last example Mr. Cook gave was Banksy, a famous graffiti artist. Many people are obsessed with him and have even tried to take his art. Bansky tried to do a similar thing that his fans did with his art: reselling it. Bansky stole a piece of art from a random organization's building, sprayed paint on it, and hung it back in their building as if nothing had happened. The organization was shocked to find it after not noticing it. The organization then sold the art Bansky made, and all profits went to them, and not Banksy. Mr. Cook thinks that Haaning is inspired by Bansky’s social experiment, causing Haaning to make his experiment for the uproar.

The results from the form in the Daily were pretty evenly divided. I asked, “Do you consider Jens Haaning's blank canvases to actually be art?” and “Should Jens Haaning have to repay the museum?” Out of 97 responses, the results were divided almost 50/50. Again to Mr. Cook’s point, this is what Jens Haaning might have wanted to see as a result of his work: So many different passionate opinions.

Some students added their thoughts about the situation and modern art. Most shared variations on two ideas: “The blank canvases were art, and it’s art to the artist,” or “Jens Haaning is fake and I don’t see a point in his blank canvases.”

Overall, I got very diverse responses from teachers and students about Haaning’s art, which shows Lakeside Middle School’s thoughts on modern art. The middle schoolers are extremely divided on these blank canvases’ place in the museum and whether they should even be classified as art.