Even after the General Director’s resignation, this year’s Documenta continues to arouse astonishment. The exhibition organizers apparently believe they can improve an anti-Semitic work of art by covering up anti-Jewish details with adhesive tape. That doesn’t go over well.
At Documenta fifteen in Kassel, which was overshadowed by accusations of anti-Semitism, a modified work of art sparked new discussions. The Young Forum of the German-Israeli Society accuses the organizers of the exhibition in Kassel of pasting over parts of a work criticized for being anti-Semitic. “It’s unbelievable that those responsible at the Documenta think that the problem is solved by masking off a kippa,” said the national chairman, Constantin Ganss, according to the press release.
The criticized work is a work by the Indonesian art collective Taring Padi. Its banner “People’s Justice” was first covered and then taken down shortly after the opening of the documenta in mid-June because of anti-Jewish images. In the work “All Mining is Dangerous” four people can be seen with bags of money. A person is depicted with a long nose and puffy lips. She wears a kippah on her head.
The headgear was obviously covered with a black piece of adhesive tape, according to the Young Forum’s allegation. “The depiction is openly anti-Semitic, there is nothing to interpret that.” Taring Padi must be immediately excluded from the Documenta.
On request, Documenta stated that the artistic direction of Documenta fifteen would explain the visual material under discussion with the participation of Taring Padi and on the basis of extensive material and visual and textual representations. “It also reflects on the circumstances under which a change in the image contributions occurred.”
From the point of view of the Indonesian curatorial collective Ruangrupa – also in consultation with Taring Padi – there is no anti-Semitic imagery to be found in the controversial work. Extensive information is currently being gathered to make this clear to critics as well.
The general director of this year’s Documenta, Sabine Schormann, had to resign in mid-July because of the anti-Semitism scandal. The Hessian state government, on the other hand, rejected calls for the show to be stopped early, which runs until the end of September.
