Meron Mendel was something like the last hope for the Documenta. With this open-minded and professionally renowned man, he runs the Anne Frank educational center in Frankfurt, the scandal surrounding the anti-Semitic depictions on the large banner “People’s Justice” to work up and to salvage what can be salvaged from the exhibition.
But now the General Secretary of the Documenta, Sabine Schormann, has alienated him too, who is probably the only prominent representative of the Jewish community who, despite what happened, still believed in the dialogue and also in the Documenta. In one published on Friday Interview with the mirror Mendel explained that he was no longer available as a consultant for Schormann. In an interview with the SZ, he describes how this decision came about.
She boasted about the anti-Semitism expert, but refused to talk to him
When the anti-Semitic caricatures were discovered on the large screen of the Taring Padi collective, Schormann was under increasing pressure every day. The public not only asked her for an explanation as to why the picture could have been hung up, they also expected a strategy for how to proceed. Seeking help, Schormann turned to Mendel and asked if he would be willing to search the exhibition for more anti-Semitic or anti-Israel works with other experts. Mendel agreed immediately. Only hours later, Schormann published a statement on the Documenta website, in which she denied her own guilt and promised clarification with a grand gesture:
“Because of the possible omissions of those responsible, we are now having the … exhibition examined for further critical works.” The Documenta is supported by “recognized experts such as Meron Mendel”. Also in an interview with Hessian general she said to herself: “We are now systematically examining the exhibition to see whether other critical works are appearing. Ruangrupa will also have to do justice to its curatorial task.” Again she referred to Mendel as a renowned professional advisor.
And then Mendel waited. And waited. For talks with Schormann, for meetings with Ruangrupa, for a concept of how this work could be organized quickly. He texted Schormann, he kept calling her – no response. While she publicly boasted that she had enlisted the support of the renowned anti-Semitism expert, behind the scenes she adamantly refused the cooperation she had asked for and which he had promised.
Mendel had had enough last Friday. He gave Schormann an ultimatum via voicemail. If he doesn’t hear anything by Monday, he’s no longer available. According to Mendel, the only reaction was a call from one of Schormann’s employees, who only had vague information about the planned work. On Monday, Mendel Schormann finally canceled without slamming the door completely.
“For me, this is neo-colonial behavior. Ruangrupa are treated like little children.”
As Schormann on Wednesday did not appear for a hearing in the culture committee of the Bundestag, she explained with a high fever. But there was no mention of this in the emails Mendel received from her office. The mail didn’t come until Thursday evening. Not a word of regret, but half a page with a schedule, “a very rudimentary document,” he says, “something someone wrote down in ten minutes”https://www.sueddeutsche.de/kultur/.”I interpret that as indifference,” he says, and suspects that Schormann wants to postpone the investigation until grass has grown over the matter. “I can’t take it anymore.” Schormann did not respond to requests from the SZ for a statement on Friday – as he did to all inquiries in recent weeks.
Not only did Schormann himself refuse to talk, according to Mendel, he also did everything possible to prevent him from meeting Ruangrupa, although she has described the collective as solely responsible for the artistic work since the scandal. In the beginning, the Documenta management was strictly against Ruangrupa representatives being invited to the panel discussion, organized by Mendel last Wednesday. Only when Mendel threatened to cancel the event did she give in. Only through private contacts has he now managed to speak to a representative of the insecure collective, which is shielded by the Documenta management. “For me, this is neo-colonial behavior. They are treated like little children.”
The most recent turn of events is all the more tragic because Schormann and the Documenta should not have feared Mendel as an inquisitor. After his private visits to the exhibition, he was very impressed. And for the two well-known problematic works – “Guernica Gaza” and the films from “Subversive Film” that are still shown – he can imagine a variety of solutions that do not necessarily involve the removal of the works of art: even with “small interventions”, with ” “Contextualization” can already achieve a lot, according to Mendel. “There is a lot of room for maneuver between censorship and doing nothing.” Schormann has nevertheless decided to do nothing.