In an interview with the German Press Agency, the interim Documenta director Alexander Farenholtz, who was the manager of the show from 1989 to 1993, said his role is a bit like that of a substitute football coach: “If there is a change of coach in football , you often just have to deal with a new temperament.
And that can sometimes help to calm the situation a little.” The change of coach in Kassel seems to go hand in hand with a vaccination with the Egalitas virus and a prophylactic infection with push-away disease, because a good week after the departure of the notoriously irresponsible Director-General Schormann is again coming out of Kassel with pithy words about incompetence: "Under no circumstances" should the impression arise that
that through the scientific support - this was the main demand in the five-point plan of the emergency meeting of the supervisory board - "a control body is introduced".
Farenholtz continued in the conversation that it was nothing more than an “advice offer for the curators”, and not a restriction of curatorial freedom.
In the case of works that are considered critical, the curatorial team can request suggestions for contextualisation from the experts.
"But that too is at the discretion of the curators." Nor will there be an examination of the remaining works of art.
Farenholtz continued in the conversation.
In the case of works that are considered critical, the curatorial team can request suggestions for contextualisation from the experts.
"But that too is at the discretion of the curators." Nor will there be an examination of the remaining works of art.
Farenholtz continued in the conversation.
In the case of works that are considered critical, the curatorial team can request suggestions for contextualisation from the experts.
"But that too is at the discretion of the curators." Nor will there be an examination of the remaining works of art.
Please do not disturb the curators
The very curator-friendly remarks could now be interpreted as the reassuring caress of a veteran administrator on the best-effortless Ronaldos and Beckhams.
However, if you take Farenholtz's self-chosen coaching metaphor seriously, you can ask yourself: Would a new coach shout a cheerful "Keep it up!" played great?
In sport, it's never just the trainer alone, and that's particularly true of the very political Documenta 15 art, which was strongly influenced by its unmistakably large number of curators.
The Taring Padi collective had put up the hundred-square-meter banner with anti-Semitic motifs, unobjected by the Documenta curators Ruangrupa,
The “Team Committee”, which will be determined in the next two weeks (and for whose team one of the star players, Meron Mendel, canceled in advance), must be able to provide this supervisory coaching – with the best possible support from Farenholtz.
When the interim coach now says that "the topics to be dealt with extend far beyond the Documenta, both in terms of content and time", he shoots the ball far too far out of the field instead of the players.