Recently, an artwork by Indonesian artwork collective Taring Padi faced extreme criticism for its anti-Semitic painting soon after it went on display at the world’s most honorable German art exhibition named Documenta art exhibition, held in Kassel, Germany.
Documenta Art exhibition is one of the world’s most prestigious art exhibitions. It is held every five years. The 15th edition of Documenta opened on 18 June. It features more than 1500 participants from all over the world. But the artwork is in the headlines. Why is the artwork being criticized?
What does the artwork depict?
The controversial painting was displayed under the large banner of the “People’s Justice”. A German Art magazine described that the artwork depicted a caricature of A Jew with sidelocks, a cigar, and SS symbols on his hat.
The painting was first displayed in 2002, at an art festival held in Adelaide. It depicts a soldier-like figure, wearing a scarf, and the Star of David is portrayed as a pig. It is also wearing a helmet on which ‘Mossad’ is written. One more figure is portrayed with the sidelocks which are associated with the orthodox Jews with a cigar and SS symbols on hats.
Criticism against the artwork
Soon after the artwork was displayed in the Documenta Art Exhibition, a series of tweets started. Israel’s embassy in Germany tweeted that the exhibition is promoting the “Goebbels-style propaganda”.
It further states that they are outraged by the anti-Semitic elements displayed publicly in the Documenta exhibition, which is currently happening in Kassel, Germany.
In Germany, support also came from Claudia Roth who is the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media. She described the artwork as Anti Semitic. On social media, she stated that this is where artistic freedom finds its limits.
Defence for the Artwork
After the extreme criticism of the Artwork, Taring Padi, a collective group of underground artists in Yogyakarta in Indonesia, formed in 1998, released an explanatory note on the Documenta website. The note stated “The banner installation ‘People’s Justice’ (2002) is a campaign against the violence and militarism we faced for 32 years in Indonesia during the military dictatorship of Suharto whose legacy is present till today. Thus, the depiction of military figures in the banner portrays our experiences. All the figures depicted in the banner are taken from the commonly known symbols inside Indonesia, especially in the political context. For instance, corrupt leaders, military generals, and their soldiers are symbolized by pigs, dogs, and rats to criticize an exploitative capitalist system and military violence.”
Further, it added that the artwork was not meant to be related in any way to antisemitism. It is saddening that the details in the painting are understood differently from their original purpose. The group apologized for the hurt caused in this regard. With great regret, they covered up the work.
Continuous Criticism of the event
Since its start, the 15th edition of Documenta is facing a lot of criticism for months because of allegations of racism and antisemitism.
In May, it was reported that a racial Graffiti was viral within Documenta’s manager offices in Kassel, after a break-in.
Earlier in January, a serious disagreement was faced over the participation of the Palestinian artist group. It is because the group was accused of being linked to the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. The German Parliament labelled the movement as anti-Semitic in 2019 and barred the group from receiving federal funds.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, while opening the exhibition said that the organizer of this edition’s exhibition has to do something more to tackle the allegations of the racism and anti-Semitism surrounding the event.
