ANTI-SEMITISM: Documenta hit with new allegations

          

The curators of the contentious Documenta 15, which opened in Kassel, Germany, June 18, are facing the latest in a string of allegations that they have allowed the display of anti-Semitic work. The complaints this time focus on a 1988 brochure by the Archives des Luttes des Femmes en Algérie, an Algerian women’s collective that seeks to situate the struggle for independence in Algeria alongside other battles, including that between Palestine and Israel. The brochure contains a portrayal of an Israeli soldier whose face resembles that of a monkey, with a Star of David on his helmet. The figure, which is similar to others appearing in the pamphlet, is being kneed by a woman.

Among those who contend the work is anti-Semitic are the right-wing German Jewish organization Werte initiative (Values Initiative) and the Jewish group Rias Hessen, which is based in Kassel’s home state of Hesse. Representatives for both Hesse and Kassel have called for the removal of works by the Archives des Luttes des Femmes en Algérie, as has German culture minister Claudia Roth, who at a July 28 press conference asserted, “It is right and proper that the partners of the Documenta have now asked the artistic direction to remove these drawings from the exhibition.” According to German daily Die Welt, a Documenta spokesperson confirmed that exhibition official had already reviewed the work and dismissed allegations that it was anti-Semitic, noting in a statement, “There is a clear reference to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but no illustrations of Jews as such.”

The 2022 iteration of the esteemed quinquennial, curated by the Indonesian collective ruangrupa, has been a magnet for controversy. The group in January were met with the first of many allegations that they were anti-Semitic. These accusations stemmed from the curators’ inclusion of several artists who, alongside Jewish signatories, had condemned Germany’s 2019 anti-BDS Resolution as a “threat to artistic freedom and freedom of speech.” The measure labels the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel as anti-Semitic and thus illegal, as anti-Semitism is a crime in Germany. The accusations followed ruangrupa in the run-up to the event’s opening, with the curators organizing a series of talks on the subject of artistic freedom that they abruptly canceled, after which a Documenta venue hosting a Palestinian collective was vandalized.

Days after the exhibition’s opening, a huge 2002 banner by Indonesian collective Tarang Padi titled People’s Justice and hung in one of Kassel’s main squares was found to contain anti-Semitic images, including that of a pig labeled as a member of Israel’s secret service, and a rendering of an Orthodox Jewish man sporting fangs and a black derby hat emblazoned  with the insignia of the Nazi SS. The work was initially covered up and then hastily removed. Both ruangrupa and Tarang Padi apologized for their part in the work’s inclusion, with ruangrupa’s Ade Darmawan going before Germany's Bundestag to speak about the matter.

In early July, key adviser Miron Mendel, head of the Anne Frank Institute, cut ties with Documenta, and filmmaker Hito Steyerl removed her work from the show, telling the New York Times, “Documenta has let this debate eclipse everything else.” On July 16, Sabine Schormann stepped down from her post as director of Documenta. Two days later, ruangrupa and a number of artists participating in Documenta 15—including Tarang Padi, Archives des Luttes des Femmes en Algérie, and Question of Funding, the Palestinian collective whose space was vandalized—published on the e-flux platform an open letter in which they spoke out against discrimination and censorship and reminded the public of the racist and violent attacks they faced in their efforts to mount the exhibition.

Documenting the living legends and their legacies

           

Prof Ugiomoh

The celebration of legends takes various forms. The essence, however, appertains to entrenching positive history in a defined reward, a recognition of an accomplishment, an identity, a lasting cultural imprint, etc. However, modes of reward come in diverse ways and cultural activities. 

              History in all ways relates to things documented in natural or artificial processes. Artificial processes relate to the creation of culture. An aspect of the endowments of the human revolves around creating culture, as additus culturae, one who creates or adds to culture. In this sense, culture becomes qualitative, enriching the human family. History bears evidence of persons with enviable and outstanding impacts on society in one way or another. Recognitions within a cultural space emanate from accomplishments readily agreeable as a worthy testament within a society. However, a society’s spectrum accommodates diverse vocations and concerns; hence not monolithic. Legends constitute individuals whose impact on their society comes from the way they engage their vocation in extraordinary ways. Furthermore, legacies in societies acquire their status about legendary personalities from societal consensus and judgements.

             Documenting the Living Legend by the Living Icon Foundation (LIF), over the years, defines a unique dimension as a cultural activity of note. Despite the earlier definition of the word legend, it has an overall jaunty connotation. Hence, in the engagements by LIF, an adjudged legendary personality acquires flesh in an organised activity involving posing and modelling or presentness. A seeming demystification of the legend takes centre stage here. A corporeal encounter ensures that an appreciation of adjudged legendary personalities remains profound. The Apostle Thomas Dydimus’s legacy evokes thoughtful inspiration where presence coheres with the ideal. Placing a face on a legend strengthens the obscure values we often nurse or imagine.

The LIF honours its chosen legends for an occasion by inviting some draughts persons and other artists adept at other mediums in its agendas. A chosen icon poses for rendition in any convenient medium by artists. Sessions with the icon involve making sketches from his poses. Ordinarily, it would appear a commonplace activity. Conceptual/notional complexities trail procedures that lead to a finished artwork. Narrating such depths of engagement by the artist constitutes another subject. 

Moreover, portraiture comes as an intriguing dimension of the artist’s work. Portraiture is the window to the individual seen in the clusters in the face. The eye finds its location in the face. The Egyptian Philosopher Plotinus (204/5-270 AD) considers the eye sunlike hence a window to the soul and the source of apparent radiant energy that enlivens our being. Life gains form and identity with the face. 

The art of portraiture has, over the years, gained notoriety for exactness and inexactness. When Michelangelo Buonarotti (1475-1564 AD) made a sculptural portrait of Lorenzo de Medici – a Medici family patriarch- and delivered an inexact representation of his subject, he received a subtle reminder about his deviation from a general resemblance. His response? “In a few years hence who would remember his looks,” he queried. The flip to the Michelangelo narrative comes from the Baroque artist Rembrandt Van Rijn (1606-1669 AD), whose portraits captured inner emotions that were beyond mere facades. That gift earned him great disrepute as a portrait artist. Therefore, accessing a subject’s persona from an artist’s perspective presents many complexities. However, some artists in history have proven their dexterity as portrait artists. Engaging their self-portraits times without numbers accounted for their secrets. Such artists include, but not limited to Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Albrecht Durer (1471-1528), Rembrandt Van Rijn, Aina Onabolu (1882-1963), and Ibe Ananaba.

In this ninth episode, the LIF presents Dr. Biodun Shobanjo. The usual fun comes with it in all flurries. Anticipating the outcome in this edition, let us remember Paul Cezanne’s famous quote: “I have not tried to reproduce nature; I have represented it.” He continues, “If I were called upon briefly to define the word art, I should call it the reproduction of what the senses perceive in nature, seen through the veil of the soul” (my emphasis). Therefore, our engagements bear a load of complexities, yet with simple outcomes. Our results, in anticipation, underlie history’s essence – to add to what the past becomes as history and memory. As an artistic activity, we will etch our subject in indelible materials and mediums, standing for the genie for which worthy characters have won our admiration and engagements/endeavours every so often while creating culture.

Frank A. O. Ugiomoh, Professor of history of art and theory and Omooba Adedoyin Yemisi Shyllon Professor of Fine Art and Design, University of Port Harcourt wrote 'Legends, Legacies and histories' as Forward for the 9th Living Icon series, held on June 19, 2022, at Didi Museum, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Auction of Modern and Contemporary Nigerian Arts by Artsplit hits Lagos

         

As a pioneering art trading platform for African art, Artsplit has announced its maiden MOCONA - a Modern and Contemporary Nigerian Arts Auction due to take place from 15 - 31 July. This first-of-its-kind auction, titled 'Ode to Mastery', holding at Hourglass Gallery - 979 Saka Jojo St, Victoria Island, Lagos will feature five prominent Nigerian artists who are key drivers of the contemporary art scene on the continent: Abiodun Olaku, Duke Asidere, Edosa Ogiugo, El-Dragg Okwoju and Oliver Enwonwu. The auction's VIP closing event is on July 31st by 6 pm at Hourglass Gallery. ARTSPLIT app allows users to own fractions of prominent African artworks, also known as "Splits," and keep or trade them on the app if they win the "Split Auction." The Splits allow multiple people to co-own a single iconic piece of art, which no other art platform allows. Users can also participate in a 'Lease Auction' on the app to win physical custody of these split artworks for a set period. The MOCONA auction will be a split auction, followed by a lease auction of individual works from these 5 artists. Both auctions will run for two weeks (July 15th- July 31st). The works will also be available for physical viewing at Hourglass Gallery - 979 Saka Jojo St, Victoria Island 106104, Lagos for the auction duration from July 25th till July 31st and online from July 15th. The event follows the successful inaugural auction held in May, where Ben Enwonwu’s 1977 artwork ‘Agbogho Mmuo’ from the Ogolo series was valued at $105,000, as well as ARTSPLIT’s debut at the 59th Venice Biennale, where the platform partnered with The African Art in Venice Forum (AAVF) and the South African pavilion at the 59th Venice Biennale in 2022. Famed for his highly finished and detailed depictions of Nigeria's cities and landscapes, Abiodun Olaku is generally considered one of the country's most accomplished oil painters. Olaku largely works in the traditional medium of oil; however, his work is not stuck in the past. The artist explores new horizons within established methods and techniques open to innovation. 'Portrait of A Beggar' (17 x 9.5 inches/43.18 x 24.13 cm, unframed, oil on canvas, dated, 1994), by Abiodun Olaku El-Dragg Okwoju is an esteemed oil painter known for his vibrant depictions of Nigerian culture. Women are the subject matter at the core of Okwoju’s practice, often caught in an abstracted and ephemeral moment of ordinary life like dancing and celebrating life. Duke Asidere expresses himself in thick, bold strokes through various media, including pencil work, oil, acrylic, pastels and transparencies. Having been raised in a female household, he has become known for his inquisitive portrayal of women in works that explore concepts like politics, society, culture and psychology – his architectural series offers a fresh perspective of Africa and his number plate and spray series have underlying political statements. Ogiugo is one of Nigeria's most famous artists for his large canvasses of equestrian and dancing scenes. His fascination with horses began after a visit to his wife's family in northern Nigeria. For Ogiugo, the technical challenges of mastering his subject matter inspire him more than anything else. Oliver Enwonwu comes from a long line of remarkable artists, such as his grandfather, a reputable traditional sculptor, and his father, Ben Enwonwu, widely known and celebrated as Africa’s most celebrated pioneer modernist. Enwonwu interrogates the complex layers of history between Africa and the West in his body of work. 

'Death of honour' by Duke Asidere

 The complete list of works available at the auction and links to buy splits are as follows: Abiodun Olaku, ‘The Seeker’ (Portrait of a beggar), 1994 El-Dragg Okwoju, Euphoria, 2022 Duke Asidere, The Death of Honour, 2022 Edosa Ogiugo, Market Day in Dalston, London, 2017 Oliver Enwonwu, Rite of Passage, 2022.  By presenting MOCONA, ARTSPLIT intends to raise the profile of these artists further and introduce them to a new set of diverse art collectors and investors, which would ultimately boost the status of both their works and the platform. Indeed, this is the new ART ECONOMY! 

Artsplit is an art trading technology company driven by one common goal; enhancing the investment status of African art by allowing users to co-own rare and valuable artworks on a platform that guarantees price discovery and market liquidity. Our mission is to position African art & artists as the preferred alternative investment choice by developing the African art ecosystem through technology and co-ownership. We believe that in this way, we can make wealth accessible through alternative investments. The platform (ARTSPLIT mobile app) allows art lovers to own fractions (also known as Splits) of prestigious African artworks, which they can trade in real-time. ARTSPLIT also provides opportunities for owners of investment-grade African art to list their works and have them evaluated and sold to members of our community. ARTSPLIT also offers advisory and management services for art collectors, which are personalised to requirements to manage art portfolios online fully and on offline platforms.