Anti-Semitism: Central Council of Jews doubts the sense of the dialogue with Documenta

Culture Antisemitismusskandal

Central Council of Jews doubts the sense of the dialogue with Documenta

As of 11:58 a.m | Reading time: 2 minutes

While the Central Council of Jews sees no need for a dialogue with the documenta, the Anne Frank educational institution seems to be sticking to the need for dialogue

Source: dpa/Swen gatekeeper

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Even before the opening of “Documenta fifteen” there were discussions about a looming anti-Semitism scandal. After a picture of an Indonesian artist collective was removed due to anti-Semitic motives, there is now disagreement about a possible need for discussion with the curators.

Dhe director of the education department of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Doron Kiesel, questioned the usefulness of further dialogue with the Documenta. He does not believe that a dialogue is still necessary, he said on Wednesday evening at a panel discussion on the anti-Semitism scandal at “Documenta fifteen” in Kassel. The incident involving the painting by the Taring Padi artist group with its anti-Semitic motifs had no consequences. “Dialogue doesn’t lead to anything at the moment,” he explained at the forum to which the Anne Frank educational institution from Frankfurt am Main and the Documenta had invited.

Meron Mendel, director of the Anne Frank educational institution, saw things differently. He did complain that it hadn’t been possible to enter into a dialogue with the Documenta since January. However, it must now be considered how one can find a mode of talking about the matter. He accused the Documenta curators of “Ruangrupa” of not having entered into an exchange with the social German context. But this should not be ignored. Like Kiesel, he was also surprised that no Jewish artists from Israel had been invited to the exhibition.

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The curator of Documenta 14, Adam Szymczyk, pointed out that, unlike various biennials, Documenta is not a national exhibition. When he curated the Documenta five years ago, there were no requests to invite artists from specific countries. He hopes that the current conflict will soon de-escalate and called on everyone involved to exercise moderation.

Hortensia Völkers, board member of the German Federal Cultural Foundation, which supports the Documenta with 3.5 million euros, also advocated taking the Documenta from the mode of accusations to a healing process. The damage to the cultural landscape caused by the anti-Semitic motifs on the work of art by the Indonesian artist group is very great. Such incidents represented a loss of trust in the work of the curators and ultimately endangered artistic freedom.

Before the discussion started, the Indonesian artist and curator Ade Darmawan, spokesman for “Ruangrupa”, spoke briefly from the audience. “We are here to learn and to listen,” he said.