The Indonesian collective behind the work, Taring Padi, denied antisemitic intent and issued an apology, adding that it was the first time it was shown in “a European and German context.”
Germany
140+ Documenta Artists and Organizers Denounce “Racist Attacks” Following Vandalism
The German contemporary art show has been plagued by accusations of antisemitism for its inclusion of artists who denounce Israel’s oppression of Palestinians.
Forensic Architecture Finds Police Failings in 2020 Hanau Mass Shooting
The report, while focused on the racist attack in Germany, comes as shootings proliferate at an alarming rate in the US.
Vandals Graffiti Documenta Exhibition Space of Palestinian Artist Group
The show’s curators called it “a politically motivated threat” toward the artist collective The Question of Funding, members of whom have been the target of antisemitism accusations.
Triennial of Photography Hamburg Reflects on Currency
For the triennial’s eighth edition, work by more than 70 artists is featured in 12 exhibitions and a polyphonic program, installed at various locations throughout the German city.
Documenta Curators Rebut “Bad-Faith” Antisemitism Allegations
“It became clear that the accusations made against documenta fifteen and the forum itself currently render a free and productive discussion impossible,” the group ruangrupa wrote in a missive.
Children’s Drawings, Grocery Lists, And Other Inscriptions Found On Ancient Egyptian Sherds
Egyptologists have uncovered over 18,000 bits of broken pottery used as writing surfaces 2,000 years ago.
Time and Transformation in the Art of Toba Khedoori
Although Khedoori does not depict living beings, their presence is evoked in the traces they leave behind.
The Humboldt Forum’s Disappointing Ethnographic Collections
The Ethnological Museum and Museum of Asian Art were not included in the Forum’s grand inauguration in July, but instead, quietly opened in September.
A Portal Tracks Objects Acquired by German Institutions Through Colonialism
Gerke Dunkhase estimates that only half of the Benin bronzes in Germany are logged on the portal so far, calling the current database a “prototype” of what’s to come.
Scientists Have Found the Earliest Evidence of Leather Clothes
A recent discovery marks the earliest known evidence of the production of animal-based clothing.
Vermeer Restoration, Finally Complete, Reveals a Painting Within a Painting
Conservators at Dresden’s Old Masters Picture Gallery have uncovered a full-length cupid in Vermeer’s “Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window” — likely painted over by someone other than the artist.