Nfter the allegations of anti-Semitism against Documenta fifteen in Kassel, the heavily criticized banner of the Indonesian artists’ collective Taring Padi is covered. Due to a depiction of figures by the collective, which enables anti-Semitic readings, the collective, together with the management and the artistic direction, “decided to cover up the work in question and to install an explanation,” the documenta announced on Monday evening. “Everyone involved regrets that feelings were hurt in this way.”
The collective responsible for the work, Taring Padi, emphasized that they are “committed to supporting and respecting diversity”. The work does not contain “content aimed at portraying any population groups in a negative way”.
Among other things, a soldier with a pig’s face can be seen on the large banner. He wears a scarf with a Star of David and a helmet with the inscription “Mossad” – the name of the Israeli foreign intelligence service.
The motif had triggered sharp criticism: both Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth (Greens), the Central Council of Jews in Germany and the Israeli Embassy described the work as anti-Semitic and called for consequences. According to a media report, the President of the German-Israeli Society, Volker Beck, called in the public prosecutor’s office.
“Human dignity, protection against anti-Semitism as well as against racism and any form of misanthropy are the basis of our coexistence, and this is where artistic freedom finds its limits,” Roth explained. The documenta must “immediately make this clear to the curators and artists and draw the necessary conclusions,” demanded Roth.
The Israeli embassy explained that the elements shown in some exhibits “are reminiscent of the propaganda of Goebbels and his henchmen in dark times of German history”. All red lines were “not only crossed, they have been smashed”.
The director of the Anne Frank educational institution, Meron Mendel, asked those responsible for the world art exhibition in Kassel to remove Taring Padi’s contribution because of anti-Semitic motives. “This is a clear border crossing,” Mendel said of the banner. “These images leave absolutely no room for interpretation. This is clear anti-Semitic agitation.”
The work must be covered immediately or, at best, removed, he demanded. In the second step, there needs to be a dialogue about what went wrong and where the blind spots of this documenta are.
“My personal impression is that there is anti-Semitic imagery here,” said the deputy chair of the Documenta supervisory board, Hesse’s art minister Angela Dorn (Greens). She therefore immediately contacted the Director General of the Documenta, Sabine Schormann, with the aim of clarifying the matter as quickly as possible – if necessary with the help of experts on anti-Semitism from academia.
The President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, was also outraged on Monday. The Council had been criticized from many quarters for its concerns about this year’s Documenta. He was even indirectly accused of racism. “However, it doesn’t matter where artists who spread anti-Semitism come from,” emphasized Schuster. Artistic freedom ends where misanthropy begins. “This red line was crossed at the Documenta.” Those responsible now have to live up to their social responsibility and draw the necessary conclusions, he demanded.
Volker Beck, Green Party politician and President of the German-Israeli Society, turned on the public prosecutor’s office. “Measured by the standards of the judgment of the Federal Court of Justice on the Wittenberg ‘Judensau’, the work of the artist collective ‘Taring Padi’ represents an infringing condition,” Beck told the “Bild” newspaper. “Since those responsible for cultural policy at the federal, state and Kassel levels failed to encourage the Documenta management to handle their exhibition responsibly, I decided to submit the matter to the public prosecutor’s office in Berlin and Kassel for examination.”
The American Jewish Committee Berlin was shocked by Taring Padi’s motives. AJC Berlin director Remko Leemhuis demanded that the managing director of Documenta Schormann be released from her duties immediately and that the relevant works be removed. He expects Minister of State for Culture Roth to comment on “how this blatant anti-Semitism was able to come about despite the previous debates”. The AJC Berlin considers a renewed convening of expert groups or commissions “in view of such obvious anti-Semitism to be obsolete. The political leaders must explain themselves and immediately draw the appropriate conclusions.”
Steinmeier criticized the lack of Israeli artists
In the run-up to the exhibition, which opened on Saturday, its organization had been the subject of controversy, mainly because of how it was treated with Israel. There was particular criticism of the Indonesian art collective Ruangrupa, which was entrusted with the artistic direction. Ruangrupa has been accused of involving organizations for the documenta that question Israel’s right to exist or support a boycott of the country.
In his speech at the opening on Saturday, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said that he had long doubted whether he should give the speech at all. “Because some of the criticism of Israeli policy, such as the construction of settlements, is justified,” the recognition of Israeli statehood is “the basis and prerequisite for the debate for us.”
Steinmeier also called it disturbing when “recently more and more representatives of the Global South refuse to take part in events, conferences or festivals in which Jewish Israelis take part”. In this context, it is striking that “there are probably no Jewish artists from Israel represented at this important exhibition of contemporary art”.
The federal government’s anti-Semitism commissioner, Felix Klein, also criticized those responsible for the Documenta. They had not succeeded in “credibly dispelling allegations of anti-Semitism” against the exhibition, Klein told the “Bild am Sonntag”. He shares the President’s critical assessment. “It cannot be that anti-Semitism is part of the publicly funded artistic discourse in Germany.”
The Documenta, which has been in Kassel since 1955, is considered the world’s most important exhibition of contemporary art alongside the Venice Biennale. It is only held every five years. The show lasts until September 25th.