VOA慢速英语2021--丹麦艺术家“以艺术之名”卷款而去

A museum in Denmark gave an artist over $80,000 to create a piece of art for an exhibition about work and money.

The Kunsten Museum of Modern Art was surprised when Jens Haaning sent two empty canvases². He said it was art.

He called the work "Take the Money and Run."

The museum paid Haaning about $3,900 to make the art. It was supposed to be created from thousands of dollars of bank notes attached to the canvases. The museum also gave him the bank notes.

The work was supposed to be similar to his past works³ that used the bank notes to show the average yearly⁴ wage in Denmark and Austria.

Haaning told a Danish radio broadcaster: "The artwork is that I have taken the money."

He did not say where it was, or if he planned to give it back.

Haaning is known to create art that makes people think.

He said the art, or lack of art, depending on how you view it, shows his current work status.

"I encourage others, who have just as miserable⁵ working conditions as I, to do the same," Haaning said. "If they are being asked to give money to go to work, then take the money and run."

The Kunsten Museum says the artist broke an agreement that he would make a piece of art. However, it has not reported Haaning to the police. The exhibition closes in January. If he returns the money at that point, it may not.

Haaning says he did not commit a crime, and what he gave the museum is art.

Words in This Story

exhibition – n. an event at which objects (such as works of art) are put out in a public space for people to look at : a public show of something

canvas¹ – n. a specially⁶ prepared piece of cloth on which a picture can be painted by an artist

encourage – v. to tell or advise (someone) to do something

miserable – adj. very poor in condition or quality

1 canvas   

n.粗帆布，一块油画布

参考例句：

• The times that people used canvas boat have become history.人们用帆船的时代已成为历史。
• Smith painted an oil painting on the canvas.史密斯在画布上画了一幅油画。

2 canvases   

n.帆布( canvas的名词复数 )；油画（布）

参考例句：

• a sale of the artist's early canvases 那位画家早期油画的拍卖
• I should look deep into the canvases of Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, Rembrandt. 我要仔细端详拉斐尔、达芬奇、提香和瑞姆布兰特的油画。 来自辞典例句

3 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

4 yearly   

adj.每年的，一年一度的；adv.一年一次地

参考例句：

• The flower show is a yearly event in our town.我们镇上的花展一年举行一次。
• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。

5 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

6 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。