Jens Jørgen Thorsen (2 February 1932

Holstebro Holstebro is the main town in Holstebro Municipality, Denmark. The town, bisected by Storå, Denmark, ''Storåen'' ("The Large Creek") and has a population of 37,487 (1 January 2025).Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts () has provided education in the arts for more than 250 years, playing its part in the development of the art of Denmark. History The Royal Danish Academy of Portraiture, Sculpture, and Architecture in Cope ...

. Jens Jørgen Thorsen was part of the

Situationist International The Situationist International (SI) was an international organization of social revolutionaries made up of avant-garde artists, intellectuals, and political theorists. It was prominent in Europe from its formation in 1957 to its dissolution ...

Movement, in particular his

happening A happening is a performance, event, or situation art, usually as performance art. The term was first used by Allan Kaprow in 1959 to describe a range of art-related events. History Origins Allan Kaprow first coined the term "happening" i ...

s and collaboration with Jørgen Nash are well documented. Thorsen also wrote, directed, and starred in a number of films, the most notable of them being '' Quiet Days in Clichy'' (''Stille dage i Clichy'',1970), based on the

Henry Miller Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, so ...

novel. In painting, Thorsen painted a number of abstract works, which have become increasingly collectible. He 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'', later ''The Sex Life of Jesus'', and was to have involved both heterosexual and homosexual acts. The film plans met with strong national and international protests and accusations of blasphemy resulting in the Danish Film Academy withdrawing its financial support. The film was to have been made in Britain, but it faced intense opposition from Christian morality campaigner

Mary Whitehouse Constance Mary Whitehouse (; 13 June 1910 – 23 November 2001) was a British teacher and conservative activist. She campaigned against social liberalism and the mainstream British media, both of which she accused of encouraging a more permis ...

, pressure groups, as well as from the Queen, then Prime Minister

James Callaghan Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff ( ; 27 March 191226 March 2005) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the L ...

, the Archbishop of Canterbury

Donald Coggan Frederick Donald Coggan, Baron Coggan, (9 October 1909 – 17 May 2000) was the 101st Archbishop of Canterbury from 1974 to 1980.

, and

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

, who called the film "an insult ... which transforms Christ into sacrilegious bait for filthy falseness". ''The Return of Jesus'' (1992) (a completely different project) was made after the ban on the original project was rescinded in 1990. The controversy, and particularly Thorsen's reported interest in producing the film in the United States, led to a decades-long hoax that the release of such a film was imminent. Thorsen was also a jazz musician and co-founder of the group Papa Bue's Viking Jazzband.

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* 1932 births 2000 deaths 20th-century Danish painters Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni People from Holstebro Musicians from the Central Denmark Region Danish film directors Danish jazz musicians Situationists {{Denmark-film-director-stub