A mural by an Indonesian collective was taken down after critics complained of antisemitic tropes at Documenta, Germany's renowned Documenta art gathering.
A large mural banner at Documenta has been deemed to contain antisemitic images Image: Sabine Oelze/DW
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Just days after Documenta opened on June 18, a work on display by the Indonesian art collective Taring Padi has been decried as deeply antisemitic by the Israeli and German governments, who say the event has gone too far.
The mural, originally exhibited in 2002 in Australia, features a soldierlike figure depicted as a pig and wearing a helmet bearing the word "Mossad" — the name of Israel's national intelligence agency.
Another figure is depicted with the sidelocks associated with Orthodox Jews, fangs and bloodshot eyes, and wearing a black hat with a SS insignia.
"We are disgusted by the antisemitic elements publicly displayed at the Documenta 15 exhibition," Israel's embassy said in a statement, adding that parts are "reminiscent of propaganda used by Goebbels and his goons during darker times in German history."
"All red lines have not only been crossed, they have been shattered," Israel's state representative in Germany said.
"Artistic freedom finds its limits," said Claudia Roth, Germany's commissioner for culture and the media. Roth also urged the show's curators, the Jakarta-based curatorial collective, Ruangrupa, to "face the necessary consequences."
Part of the mural exhibits a man with side curls associated with Orthodox Jews, fangs and bloodshot eyes, and SS runes on the hatImage: Uwe Zucchi/dpa/picture alliance
Artwork to be dismantled
German media reported on Tuesday that the artwork would be dismantled. Kassel's mayor, Christian Geselle said, "Something that was not supposed to happen has taken place" and that he was ashamed. Angela Dorn, the state premier of Hessen, where Kassel is located, said, "I am angry, I am disappointed." She also said the incident would damage Documenta's reputation.
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A day earlier, the Taring Padi group had agreed to cover the controversial mural, titled "People's Justice," which is part of a large outdoor banner installation, and to add an explanatory note.
In a statement, the group said the work was "part of a campaign against militarism and the violence we experienced during Suharto's 32-year military dictatorship in Indonesia and its legacy that continues to have an impact today."
"It is not meant to be related in any way to antisemitism," said the activist artist collective, which was established in Java in 1998. "We are saddened that details in this banner are understood differently from its original purpose. We apologize for the hurt caused in this context."The covered work will become "a monument of mourning for the impossibility of dialogue at this moment," the statement added. "This monument, we hope, will be the starting point for a new dialogue."
Documenta marred by antisemitism row
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'Attaching a footnote is absurd'
Though Taring Padi maintains that the work is a critique of authoritarianism in Indonesia, Jewish community groups say blacking out the work it is not enough.
Charlotte Knobloch, president of the Jewish Community of Munich and Upper Bavaria in southern Germany, said she was "appalled by the sheer hatred of the Jews that is shown in the image of Taring Padi."
"Persons with temple curls and SS runes, plus a pig's head with the inscription 'Mossad' — that is blatantly antisemitic," Knobloch said in Munich on Monday.
She also criticized the announcement that the painting would be partially covered up, and a note attached. "Attaching a footnote is absurd," she said.
Josef Schuster, of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, noted that "artistic freedom ends where xenophobia begins."
Meanwhile, the president of the German-Israel Society, Volker Beck, is reportedly filing a case with prosecutors over the image.
The mural has now been covered upImage: Sabine Oelze/DW
Earlier antisemitism allegations rejected
For the first time since Documenta began in 1955, the show is being curated by a collective, with Ruangrupa inviting artists from around the world, and especially from the Global South, to participate.
This includes the Palestinian artist collective The Question of Funding, which an anonymous blog post in January accused of being antisemitic because the artists supported the cultural boycott of Israel.
The accusation, made by an alliance against antisemitism, was rejected by Ruangrupa in a public letter that demanded artistic freedom, yet spoke out in favor of political neutrality and declared their willingness to engage in dialogue.
The Documenta supervisory board, and even culture minister Claudia Roth, backed the curator team at the time.
Art in Kassel, from documenta and beyond
Every five years, the documenta exhibition brings art to Kassel — and attracts many tourists. They can admire current and past works, as well as many other sights, some dating back centuries.
Image: picture alliance/dpa
ruruHaus: The 'living room' of documenta
The former department store with its striking facade is the epicenter for artists and visitors alike at this year's documenta. In the ruruHaus, artist collectives present themselves and events take place. Practical for visitors: From here, all other documenta venues can quickly be reached.
Image: Uwe Zucchi/dpa/picture alliance
'Lumbung' in time-honored setting
The Museum Fridericianum has often served as a central location for documenta. This year, the organizers of the group Ruangrupa redefined the historic building as a "lumbung." The term refers to buildings in Indonesia that are communal harvest storage sites and important village meeting places. The artists want to meet with visitors here for workshops and discussions, among other things.
Image: Sven Pförtner/dpa/picture alliance
Old clothes, electronic waste and garbage
Against the magnificent backdrop of the Orangerie in the Karlsaue Park, this installation draws attention to the dark side of consumer society. The walk-in work "Return to Sender" by Kenyan artist collective The Nest highlights environmental destruction in southern countries caused by the transport of garbage, electronic waste and textiles.
Image: Sven Pförtner/dpa/picture alliance
Illumination art in the city
The "Laserscape" installation at documenta 1977 was the world's first permanent laser light artwork — and it's still a nighttime landmark in Kassel. The beams connect the tower at the Museum Fridericianum, the Hercules Octagon and the Hessian State Museum, among other things. Definitely a "highlight" for the night owls among the visitors.
Image: imago stock&people
'7000 Oaks' for Kassel
Probably no other documenta work has changed Kassel as permanently as "7000 Oaks: City Forestation instead of City Administration" by Joseph Beuys. In 1982, he tipped 7,000 basalt stones onto a square in the city center. Over the next five years, he moved stone after stone to new locations. At each, an oak was planted, such along this path. Local residents and tourists take pleasure in it.
Image: Swen Pförtner/dpa/picture alliance
Bronze tree and granite boulders
The work "Idea di Pietra," by Giuseppe Penone, also addresses the coexistence of tree and stone. For documenta 13 in 2012, the Italian installed the skeleton of a tree, cast in bronze, in which a granite boulder is suspended. The nine-meter-high (29.5 ft) sculpture was purchased with donations by citizens of Kassel and now adorns the picturesque park landscape of the Karlsaue.
Image: picture alliance / dpa
The city wants to go to the top
Over the years some works of art develop a symbolism of their own. The sculpture "Man Walking to the Sky," by Jonathan Borofsky, is one example. In 1992 it was part of documenta 9, but it remained in Kassel afterward, becoming a symbol of recovery for many citizens at a moment of great change: Kassel had been close to the border between East and West Germany; today it's in the geographic center.
Image: picture-alliance/U. Zucchi
New landmark anchored in history
The gigantic pickaxe is also a documenta relic. Its creator, Claes Oldenburg, was inspired by a pickaxe found near the city's Orangerie and entertained the idea that the famous Hercules monument in Bergpark Wilhelmshöhre could have thrown it. Thus, for documenta 7 in 1982, Oldenburg created a new landmark: a twelve-meter rendition of the steel implement right on the bank of the Fulda River.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/U. Zucchi
Demigod with a view
This famous Hercules monument has been attracting visitors to Kassel for much longer than the documenta, which first took place in 1955. High above the city, the 8-meter (27 ft) representation of the demigod has been enthroned on a towering pyramid since the beginning of the 18th century. It looks out over Wilhelmshöhe Palace to downtown Kassel.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Pförtner
Water features attract visitors
The octagonal base upon which the Hercules monument sits is also the starting point of another attraction that drew curious visitors to Kassel long before the documenta: On Wednesdays, Sundays and public holidays from May to October, the baroque waterworks flowing down the hillside enchant visitors from all over the world — and have done so for more than three hundred years.
