Jens Jørgen Thorsen
Encyclopedia
Jens Jørgen Thorsen was a Danish
artist
, director, and jazz musician whose works sometimes created controversy
.
Thorsen began his artistic career attending periodically the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. However he chose to produce and create art that was meant to be provocative. This included a number of public displays protesting various governmental issues. Thorsen also wrote, directed, and starred in a number of films, the most notable of them being Stille dage i Clichy, based on a Henry Miller
novel.
In painting, Thorsen also stirred up controversy with a work depicting Jesus
in a manner some considered pornographic. Thorsen planned a film called The Many Faces of Jesus, which was about the sex life of Jesus, and was to have involved both heterosexual and homosexual acts. The film was to have been made in Britain, but it faced intense opposition from pressure groups, as well as from the Queen, then Prime Minister James Callaghan
, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Donald Coggan
. The film was never made. Thorsen painted a number of abstract works, which have become increasingly collectible. He was also a jazz musician and co-founder of the group "Papa Bue's Viking Jazzband".
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
, director, and jazz musician whose works sometimes created controversy
Controversy
Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of opinion. The word was coined from the Latin controversia, as a composite of controversus – "turned in an opposite direction," from contra – "against" – and vertere – to turn, or versus , hence, "to turn...
.
Thorsen began his artistic career attending periodically the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. However he chose to produce and create art that was meant to be provocative. This included a number of public displays protesting various governmental issues. Thorsen also wrote, directed, and starred in a number of films, the most notable of them being Stille dage i Clichy, based on a Henry Miller
Henry Miller
Henry Valentine Miller was an American novelist and painter. He was known for breaking with existing literary forms and developing a new sort of 'novel' that is a mixture of novel, autobiography, social criticism, philosophical reflection, surrealist free association, and mysticism, one that is...
novel.
In painting, Thorsen also stirred up controversy with a work depicting Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
in a manner some considered pornographic. Thorsen planned a film called The Many Faces of Jesus, which was about the sex life of Jesus, and was to have involved both heterosexual and homosexual acts. The film was to have been made in Britain, but it faced intense opposition from pressure groups, as well as from the Queen, then Prime Minister James Callaghan
James Callaghan
Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC , was a British Labour politician, who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980...
, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Donald Coggan
Donald Coggan
Frederick Donald Coggan, Baron Coggan, PC was the 101st Archbishop of Canterbury from 1974 to 1980, during which time he visited Rome and met the Pontiff, in company with Bishop Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, future Cardinal of England and Wales.-Background:Coggan was born in Highgate, London, England...
. The film was never made. Thorsen painted a number of abstract works, which have become increasingly collectible. He was also a jazz musician and co-founder of the group "Papa Bue's Viking Jazzband".