Having been married to a Dane for 20 years now, I am no stranger to controversial conversations and remarks. Many times we have been in situations where I have found myself afraid of what might come out of his mouth.
While he is funny in Danish, his humor sometimes hits like a sledgehammer for an American party. I usually smile and shrug.
“Viking humor?” I suggest while gently pulling him away.
Great, but no biggie
Danes, I have noticed, generally do not shy away from controversy. Take John Dillermand, the children’s show that recently hit international news. It is basically a cartoon about a man who is able to save people in trouble because he has the longest penis in the world.
The answer to the controversy is that it is not sexualized, children love it, and that it was approved by a national organization that promotes sex education.
So what’s the big deal?
Take the money and pun
The latest Danish polemic about creating global headlines took place in Aalborg.
A museum gave the Danish artist Jens Haaning DKK 534,000 for an art installation where he wanted to show the difference between Denmark’s and Austria’s annual income.
What the museum got back, however, was a little less than they had anticipated. Haaning put the money in his pocket and submitted two blank canvases titled ‘Take the Money and Run’ instead. He said he wanted to emphasize the poor working conditions of artists.
Life blessed plain
When I first read about this, I could not help but think about how Danish this sounded to me. I looked into Haaning to learn more about him and found a short autobiography from an exhibition booklet entitled ‘Art for Ordinary People’.
“I have an opinion about pretty much everything,” he writes, “which is not so strange considering that I am Danish. It is a Nordic thing. We have flat hierarchical societies; we are encouraged to be anti-authoritarian. We even question God and make fun of him in children’s programs on public service television. ”
This reminded me of the anxiety I feel at dinner parties with my husband discussing religion.
Honest expression
As a Danish parenting expert, I have written a lot about how Danish education instills the right to be seen and heard and to express oneself honestly. It is part of their democratic foundation.
“We have raised questions [everything] … And we are expected to have an opinion, ”writes Haaning.
Overall, I find that if the Danes want to discuss something that may be too provocative for some people, then they are not so fussy about it and generally have a pretty good sense of humor.
Really good humor
Laase Andersson, the director of Aalborg Museum, is an example of this.
“He touched my curators up, and he touched me a little too, but I also got a laugh because it was really humorous,” he said of Haaning’s installation.
No one knows yet if the money will be paid back.
Whether it is for a dinner party, at school or at a museum, it seems to have a meaning in Denmark that matters. But it is not always without cost.