Sabine Schormann leaves her job at Documenta after an exhibit containing anti-Semitic elements provoked a protest.
Published on 16 July 202216 July 2022
The head of a major German art show has resigned after an exhibit containing anti-Semitic elements sparked protests at the event’s opening last month.
Sabine Schormann, director general of Documenta, one of the world’s largest art fairs, has left her position as chief executive by agreement, the art fair’s executive board said on Saturday.
He also expressed dismay at what he described as “unequivocally anti-Semitic motifs” that could be seen in one of the works shown during the opening weekend.
“The presentation of the ‘People’s Justice’ banner by the artist group Taring Padi with its anti-Semitic imagery was a clear violation and thus caused significant damage to the Documenta,” the board said.
The banner featured a soldier with the face of a pig, wearing a necklace with a Star of David and a helmet inscribed with the word “Mossad,” the name of Israel’s intelligence agency. It was taken down within days after widespread criticism from Jewish groups and German and Israeli officials.
The Taring Padi group, based in Indonesia, has already apologized for the incident. He said the work – which he said was first exhibited at the South Australian Art Festival in Adelaide 20 years ago – was “not in any way linked” to anti-Semitism, but instead referred to the post-1965 dictatorship in Indonesia.
“We are sorry that the details of this flag are being misunderstood other than their original purpose. We apologize for the injuries caused in this context,” he said last month.
He acknowledged that the event followed months of controversy about alleged anti-Semitism, which he and the organizers of the show had strongly rejected.
The German president raised the issue of anti-Semitism during his speech at the opening of the show, saying there are “limits” to what artists can do when they tackle political issues in a country still make amends for the Holocaust.
This year’s Documenta is curated by Indonesian art group Ruangrupa, who have broken with tradition by using a collaborative format and inviting a wider range of participants from the Global South than previous editions of the exhibition.
But the controversy surrounding the incident has raised questions about whether Germany’s approach to combating anti-Semitism discriminates against Palestinians and supporters of Palestinian rights, and restricts artistic freedom.
The contemporary art event had been the subject of controversy for months over its joint inclusion of The Question of Funding, a Palestinian artist group critical of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land.
In June, several weeks before Documenta opened, the group’s exhibition space was vandalized as intruders set off a fire extinguisher and spray painted what appeared to be death threats on the walls.
The group supports BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions), a movement to boycott Israel until it withdraws from the Palestinian and Arab territory it occupies.
BDS, which attracts support from all over the world, was branded anti-Semitic by the German parliament in 2019 and banned from receiving federal funding. About half of Documenta’s $42m budget comes from public funds.
In the years since, BDS supporters have been stripped of awards, banned from events, and publicly denounced as anti-Semites.
Germany is home to Europe’s largest population of Palestinians, but many see the political climate as becoming increasingly hostile towards them.
