Provo art - from horse sacrifice to pillory

In the book, Provokunst , Niels Frid-Nielsen shows how artists have provoked, challenged and confronted bourgeois society for 100 years and have been met with censorship, mockery, hatred, laughter and lots of debate.

The book presents a cultural historical account of spectacular artistic controversies, such as when Wilhelm Freddie had a painting of a penis on a woman's cheek banned. It also describes the incident where the Santa Claus Army handed out gifts from the shelves of a department store and was arrested for it. It also covers Lars von Trier's controversial statements about Hitler at the Cannes Film Festival, Dan Turèll's decision to cut himself bald and paint his nails black, and how a laser light on the West Coast sparked wild debate.

In addition, Provokunst deals with contemporary events, such as when Asger Jorn had a work pasted over, Jens Haaning accepted payment for a work and then disappeared, and when a bust of King Frederik V was thrown into Copenhagen harbor.