After the modern art exhibition Documenta 15 opened on June 18, a scandal involving an antisemitic image caused backlash and criticism, ruining the excitement of the art exhibition.
The Documenta, which takes place every five years, invites participants beyond the commercial art world to display work, hold talks, stage performances, tend gardens, share food, commune, and create. This prestigious international exhibition defies usual metrics and is decentralized, where the director relies on the participant’s genius, instincts, choices, and knowledge.
Artworks in the exhibition range from paintings, sculptures, drawings, and textile works to videos, vegetable plots, a floating stage, and a D.I.Y wood shop.
The scandal at Documenta involved a banner created by Indonesian collective ‘Taring Padi’ in 2002. The banner portrays politics in Indonesia as a battle of capitalists, polluters, and oppressors against the citizens. However, a person with features of “a large nose, pointy teeth and side-locks, decked with an “SS” cap” expressed Holocaust connotations.
The banner was a late addition due to it being restored, and the Documenta’s artistic director, Ruangrupa, had not examined the piece of art, which his members apologized for. In addition, the Documenta’s director general, Sabine Schormann, told newsmagazine ‘Der Spiegel’ that out of respect for artistic freedom, no arts were screened in advance.
While the work has been removed, the Documenta is over for Germany’s establishment. Politicians and the media had called the exhibition a national embarrassment and demanded better control of future Documentas as well as Schormann’s resignation. The management made an announcement that Ruangrupa, with support from the Anne Frank Center, needs to review every artwork for offensive content, which sets up a battle with artists.
The Documenta has become fuel for German disputes, such as the Goethe-Institut and a Palestinian writer. However, some claimed the criticism of the show’s hyper-decentralized curation is invalid. Jorg Hantzschel and Catrin Lorsch wrote in the ‘Suddeutsche Zeitung’ newspaper that “[a]n exhibition can only succeed if the individual works are known to a curator who places them in a meaningful, functioning relationship with one another,” and that the Documenta “has made real dialogue between cultures extremely difficult for the foreseeable future.”
While the banner by ‘Taring Padi’ shouldn’t have been displayed because of the antisemitic image, the exhibition’s swift dismissal demonstrates the hostile climate and the importance of collectives, which is to create a safe, artistic space for artists in the midst of this environment.
Link to Article: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/24/arts/design/documenta-review.html
The Documenta, which takes place every five years, invites participants beyond the commercial art world to display work, hold talks, stage performances, tend gardens, share food, commune, and create. This prestigious international exhibition defies usual metrics and is decentralized, where the director relies on the participant’s genius, instincts, choices, and knowledge.
Artworks in the exhibition range from paintings, sculptures, drawings, and textile works to videos, vegetable plots, a floating stage, and a D.I.Y wood shop.
The scandal at Documenta involved a banner created by Indonesian collective ‘Taring Padi’ in 2002. The banner portrays politics in Indonesia as a battle of capitalists, polluters, and oppressors against the citizens. However, a person with features of “a large nose, pointy teeth and side-locks, decked with an “SS” cap” expressed Holocaust connotations.
The banner was a late addition due to it being restored, and the Documenta’s artistic director, Ruangrupa, had not examined the piece of art, which his members apologized for. In addition, the Documenta’s director general, Sabine Schormann, told newsmagazine ‘Der Spiegel’ that out of respect for artistic freedom, no arts were screened in advance.
While the work has been removed, the Documenta is over for Germany’s establishment. Politicians and the media had called the exhibition a national embarrassment and demanded better control of future Documentas as well as Schormann’s resignation. The management made an announcement that Ruangrupa, with support from the Anne Frank Center, needs to review every artwork for offensive content, which sets up a battle with artists.
The Documenta has become fuel for German disputes, such as the Goethe-Institut and a Palestinian writer. However, some claimed the criticism of the show’s hyper-decentralized curation is invalid. Jorg Hantzschel and Catrin Lorsch wrote in the ‘Suddeutsche Zeitung’ newspaper that “[a]n exhibition can only succeed if the individual works are known to a curator who places them in a meaningful, functioning relationship with one another,” and that the Documenta “has made real dialogue between cultures extremely difficult for the foreseeable future.”
While the banner by ‘Taring Padi’ shouldn’t have been displayed because of the antisemitic image, the exhibition’s swift dismissal demonstrates the hostile climate and the importance of collectives, which is to create a safe, artistic space for artists in the midst of this environment.
Link to Article: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/24/arts/design/documenta-review.html