Right-wing politician calls pro-refugee art 'disfiguring'
Kate Müser
August 17, 2017
An obelisk with a refugee-friendly Bible verse could become a permanent fixture in Kassel after the Documenta art show. A right-wing German politician has protested, evoking Nazi vocabulary by called it "disfiguring."
Image: Imago/epd/A. Fischer
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In a statement that has been likened to Nazi sentiment, a work of art featured at the Documenta contemporary art show has been called "disfiguring" by Kassel city council member Thomas Materner, who is also a member of Germany's growing far-right party AfD.
The work by Nigerian-born, US-based artist Olu Oguibe is an over 16-meter-tall obelisk that cites the Bible verse Matthew 25:35 - "I was a stranger and you took me in" - in Turkish, Arabic, German and English.
Oguibe has said he created the work, which won him Documenta's Arnold Bolde Award, as a message to Evangelical Christians in the US who are critical of welcoming refugees.
The obelisk, dedicated to the estimated 60 million refugees all over the world, has been visible in downtown Kassel since the Documenta contemporary art show opened in the small central German town on June 10.
It is customary for Kassel to purchase permanent works of public art from each show, which takes place every five years. This week, the city's culture committee convened to discuss the possible purchase of Oguibe's obelisk.
Ideological rejection of pro-refugee art
Materner was initially quoted by the local newspaper, Hessische Niedersächsische Allgemeine (HNA), as characterizing the work as "ideologically polarizing, disfigured art."
Gernot Rönz from The Greens pointed out, according to the paper, that the terminology allegedly used by Materner ("entstellt" in German) was reminiscent of the Nazis' condemnation of so-called "entartete" or "degenerate" art that didn't conform to their racist ideology. Under the Nazi regime, countless works of art deemed unacceptable were destroyed or misappropriated from their rightful owners and sold abroad.
However, Materner later told regional news portal hessenschau.de that he had said "entstellend," meaning "disfiguring," rather than "entstellt" (disfigured). Nevertheless, the difference between the terms is slight in German.
Documenta responded to DW's inquiry by declining to comment at present.
Kassel's mayor, Christian Geselle, said he saw no legal or technical reasons for not keeping the obelisk in the city, though he added that the population would have to back the decision, according to the HNA.
The city's culture committee consists of 13 members, two of whom represent the far-right AfD party. A decision about which artworks will remain in Kassel after the Documenta ends will be made on September 5 - 12 days before the conclusion of the event.
Documenta visitors flock to these works of art
From forbidden books to white smoke, the documenta contemporary art exhibition in Kassel is presenting - both outdoors and indoors - fascinating works that are proving popular with visitors, but can also be confusing.
Image: Imago/S. Simon
Forbidden books
The Parthenon of Books on Friedrichplatz Square in Kassel, the city that hosts the documenta art exhibition every five years, is a crowd-puller. Created by Argentine artist Marta Minujin, it draws attention to the censorship and persecution of writers. Most artworks at the documenta are critical of society, though not always as clearly as this installation.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B. Roessler
Akropolis of books
The Parthenon of Books is an exact replica of the temple on the Acropolis in Athens, a symbolic link between the two documenta venues this year, Athens and Kassel. With as many as 100,000 banned books from all over the globe, the installation is set on a square where the Nazis burned books that didn't fit their ideology.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/U.Zucchi
Mill of blood
The Mill of Blood by Mexican artist Antonio Vega Macotela points a finger at the exploitation of labor. This artwork is a replica of a Bolivian mill used to make silver coins in colonial times. Slaves from the Andes had to turn the wheels, and the mill owners made a fortune.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/S. Pförtner
Hands-on artwork
Visitors can try their hand at moving the giant wheels, which is fun for kids and adults alike. Turning the wheels was so popular from day one of the exhibition that the transmission broke and had to be repaired early on.
Image: Imago/Hoch Zwei Stock/H. Angerer
Burlap sacks
Ibrahim Mahama's artwork also targets hard labor. With the help of refugees and volunteers in Athens, the Ghanaian sewed together burlap sacks to form a huge blanket for the Torwache building in Kassel. The sacks breathe tales of faraway places and goods like cocoa or coffee beans. Rich countries continue to benefit from poorly-paid raw material suppliers.
Image: Imago/Kraft
White smoke
The white smoke spiraling from Daniel Knorr's Expiration Movement installation on the Zwehrenturm tower tends to confuse visitors. Since the art exhibtion opened in Athens in April, smoke has billowed from the tower, keeping the fire department busy as concerned citizens often call it in.When the wind blows it to Friedrichsplatz, it is supposed to remind people of the Nazi book burnings.
Image: Imago/Sven Simon/E. Kremser
Horizontal living
Iraqi conceptual artist Hiwa K created an artwork that is very popular with visitors: a stack of horizontal earthenware pipes, reminiscent of similar tubes refugees took shelter in when they arrived in the Greek port of Patras. Hiwa K clearly focuses on the current European refugee debate.
Image: DW/G. Reucher
Questioning vertical life
Kassel University students furnished the pipes under the artist's scrutiny: a bathroom of sorts, a kitchen, a bar and a library (above). A horizontal perspective was important to Hiwa K. The work is meant to challenge the expectation that up is good and down is dubious.
Image: DW/G. Reucher
The myth of the idylic countryside
In 1965, traveling Chilean artists and poets founded the Ciudad Abierta ("Open City") collective which still astonishes visitors with makeshift outdoor construction projects. In Kassel, the collective presents improvised, environmentally-friendly constructions.
Image: documenta 14/Mathias Völzke
Dedicated to refugees
"I was a stranger and you took me in," engravings in four languages read on Olu Oguibe's obelisk. The monument symbolizes people in exile. In recognition of his work, the Nigerian-born US artist won the Arnold Bode Award, endowed with 10,000 euros ($11,700). The documenta contemporary art exhibition runs through September 17.
