{"id":8459,"date":"2022-09-15T09:42:09","date_gmt":"2022-09-15T06:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metacpc.org\/?p=8459"},"modified":"2022-09-15T09:44:13","modified_gmt":"2022-09-15T06:44:13","slug":"documenta-artists-outraged-over-censorship-of-pro-palestine-films","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metacpc.org\/en\/documenta-artists-outraged-over-censorship-of-pro-palestine-films\/","title":{"rendered":"Documenta Artists \u201cOutraged\u201d Over Censorship of Pro-Palestine Films"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

An open letter co-signed by 100 individuals and organizations says the festival\u2019s advisory council has miscast any criticism of Israel as antisemitic.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

An open letter<\/a> published in e-flux this weekend and co-signed by almost 100 individuals and organizations in Documenta 15\u2019s \u201clumbung community\u201d condemns the exhibition\u2019s leaders for allowing a \u201chostile environment\u201d to prevail at the international contemporary art show hosted in Kassel, Germany. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most recent offense the letter responds to is a preliminary assessment<\/a>, released by Documenta\u2019s advisory council this month, recommending the censorship of a film screening by the collective Subversive Film. According to a press release<\/a>, the panel came to a consensus that the \u201cmost urgent task\u201d was to immediately stop showing Tokyo Reels Film Festival<\/em> (TRFF), a set of freshly restored films originally made between the 1960s and \u201980s exploring Japanese and Palestinian anti-imperial solidarity. In a curatorial statement submitted to the exhibition, Subversive Film called<\/a> these films \u201cmilitant cinema.\u201d Currently, Documenta\u2019s website continues to list two upcoming TRFF screenings for the evenings of September 14 and September 21.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response to Hyperallergic\u2019s request for comment, Documenta 15\u2019s press coordinator sent the following statement: \u201cThe management of documenta and ruangrupa have taken note of the assessment of the committee. ruangrupa, as the Artistic Direction of documenta fifteen has the sole right to decide and does not wish to follow the recommendation to temporarily remove the work Tokyo Reels by Subversive Film from the exhibition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The advisory committee deemed the films, as well as talks accompanying the screenings, inappropriate. \u201cWhat is highly problematic about this work is not only the films, which contains antisemitic and anti-Zionist elements, but also the comments inserted between the films, which legitimize the hatred of Israel and the glorification of terrorism in the source material through heir uncritical discussion,\u201d the council determined. It then proceeded to criticize the \u201cone-sided\u201d portrayal of Israelis and Palestinians in the films and the characterization of Israel as \u201cfascist.\u201d The council\u2019s statement invoked the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance\u2019s definition<\/a> of antisemitism to argue that TRFF qualifies as antisemitic.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The September 10 open letter \u2014 signed by Documenta 15\u2019s curatorial group ruangrupa, Palestinian artist collective the Question of Funding, and Subversive Film, all of whom have now been targets<\/a> of antisemitism allegations in the course of Documenta 15\u2019s lead-up and run \u2014 pushes back on the advisory council\u2019s verdict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe do not accept the allegations of their preliminary report, which unashamedly reproduce poorly researched claims from the media; likewise, the report lacks scientific proof, academic references, rigorous argumentation and integrity,\u201d the open letter reads. The writers specifically take issue with the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance\u2019s definition of antisemitism, contending that it miscasts any criticism of Israel as antisemitic, and denounces the council\u2019s categorization of TRFF as \u201cpropaganda.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTheir simplistic notion of \u2018propaganda\u2019 enables a specious argument that critique of the State of Israel is an incitement of hatred of an entire people\u2014this is a very serious accusation that shocks and hurts us,\u201d the letter continues, reiterating support for Jewish \u201ccomrades\u201d whom they are united with in the struggle against the Israeli state. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond refuting the council\u2019s argument, the open letter criticizes Documenta\u2019s role in cultivating an environment in which artists and curators have been subject to a relentless smear campaign. \u201cWe are outraged, we are exhausted, but our struggle will continue,\u201d it reads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Documenta has not responded to Hyperallergic\u2019s immediate request for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In August, Documenta\u2019s shareholders assembled a \u201cscientific advisory committee\u201d comprised of seven academics with expertise variously in the areas of antisemitism, post-colonialism, and art law \u201cin the light of antisemitic incidents\u201d that had allegedly transpired at the exhibition. \u201cThe reoccurring antisemitic motifs seen at documenta fifteen demonstrate the continuous actuality and reproduction of antisemitism. It is therefore essential, that the antisemitic incidences and the related reception and events are reviewed and examined by the scientific advisory panel,\u201d Angela Dorn, the Hessian minister for Higher Education, Research, Science, and the Arts, said<\/a> when the council was announced. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This development at Documenta 15, which closes in less than two weeks, is the latest chapter in a public row between curators, artists, and exhibition organizers that has been ongoing since before the show even opened. Allegations of antisemitism first surfaced in May when German media outlets picked up<\/a> a pro-Israel blogger\u2019s claims that the curators of and artists participating in Documenta 15 were antisemitic. An open letter responding to these allegations at the time labeled them \u201cbad-faith attempts to delegitimize artists.\u201d In late May, threatening vandalism appeared<\/a> in exhibition spaces associated with The Question of Funding. In late June, Documenta removed an artwork called \u201cPeople\u2019s Justice\u201d<\/a> by Indonesian collective Taring Padi in its exhibition after it became the subject of scrutiny over antisemitic depictions. Former director Sabine Schormann resigned<\/a> in mid-July.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Editor\u2019s note 9\/13\/22<\/strong> 10:15am EDT: <\/strong>This article has been updated with a statement from Documenta\u2019s press coordinator.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An open letter co-signed by 100 individuals and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":8458,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-parts\/content-blog.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_eb_attr":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_events_control_status":"","_tribe_events_control_status_canceled_reason":"","_tribe_events_control_status_postponed_reason":"","_tribe_events_control_online":"","_tribe_events_control_online_url":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-what-we-like-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/metacpc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/metacpc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/metacpc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metacpc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metacpc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8459"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/metacpc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8459\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8465,"href":"https:\/\/metacpc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8459\/revisions\/8465"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metacpc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/metacpc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metacpc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metacpc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}