Dhe philosopher Peter Sloterdijk commented critically on the current art scene in connection with the anti-Semitism scandal surrounding an Indonesian artist collective at the Kassel Documenta. “We are observing the mobilization of a post-colonial intellectual culture,” Sloterdijk told the Berliner Zeitung. “Intellectuals from the periphery” prepared to “take power in the center”. This also corresponds to the concept of the current Documenta.
With the group of artists from Indonesia, they “deliberately chose a peripheral artist collective as the collective curator of the exhibition and thus set an example: one would rather be interpreted from the periphery than interpret oneself,” says Sloterdijk: “The wrong being in the former center is felt so strongly that one prefers to suffer interpretation rather than practice it.”
At the “documenta fifteen” that opened in Kassel a week ago, anti-Semitic depictions were discovered on a huge hidden object picture by the Indonesian artist group “Taring Padi”. The “People’s Justice” picture was removed Tuesday night following public protests.
Sloterdijk emphasized: “For the experts, this is a clear case of anti-Semitic propaganda. A quick glance was enough for me: ‘Miserable painting’.” According to the Berlin-based philosopher and author, who turns 75 on Sunday, every additional word is a waste.