Riots at Ramat Gan Museum: Artists covered works in protest, the mayor demanded to expose them

In response to the removal of David Reeve's work from the museum's exhibition, many artists sought to remove their works.

Today, about 15 artists arrived and covered the pictures with black cloth, but then he arrived at the place where his mother the priest and ordered the workers to re-reveal them.

"The mayor is acting against the law and violating freedom of expression. This is delusional."

Sagi Ben Nun

28/12/2021

Tuesday, 28 December 2021, 18:30 Updated: 18:38

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Artists cover works at the Ramat Gan Museum of Art in protest of the removal of the work of artist David Riv on the orders of Ramat Gan Mayor Carmel Shama HaCohen (Tali Kayem)

The storm of removing David Riv's work "Jerusalem" from an exhibition at the Ramat Gan Museum of Israeli Art: After the work, which includes the caption "Jerusalem of gold, Jerusalem of shit", was removed by Ramat Gan mayor Carmel Shama Hacohen, and as a result about 40 artists demanded From the museum to remove their works or cover them - today (Tuesday) about 15 artists arrived, who they say represent almost all the artists exhibiting in the exhibition, and covered most of the works in the museum as a protest in black cloth. Later, Carmel Mayor Shama HaCohen arrived at the museum and ordered the museum staff to remove the fabrics immediately. Museum staff did so, in a confrontation with the artists.

"Since the mayor does not respect the court's decision to return David Reeb's work, and as a result of downloading work from a group exhibition, all the artists issued a letter to the museum and the mayor, asking them to download their works," said Michal Shamir, artist and head of Sapir College Art School. In Sderot, whose work was selected for the exhibition, she told Walla! culture.

"The museum has accepted our demands to download the works - my art is my intellectual property and can not be displayed contrary to my consent - but it has not happened yet because it is a long process. Disassembling a work of art is a procedure that takes time with professionals, trucks and more," she said . "So we came to the museum today. Today was supposed to be a visit by the mayor and the minister of culture, but the minister canceled his visit, while he was supposed to protect the artists. We, the artists, came and covered all the works in the museum in black cloth. Entered the museum and demanded to take off the black covers.So the workers had to do it. "

More on Walla!

Despite the interim order from the court - Carmel Shama removed the "creation of the quarrel" from the Ramat Gan Museum

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The works covered at the Ramat Gan Museum of Art, today (Photo: Walla !, Tali Kayem, Michal Shamir)

She accused her mother Cohen of violating freedom of expression.

"The mayor has taken actions that are against the law. It is completely a violation of freedom of expression to remove a work. And it is hallucinatory," she said.

"The theme of the exhibition is the relationship between the establishment and art, and it deals with what art is allowed to do and what not. Many times art has irritated the establishment, that's its role, and that's the theme of the exhibition. The mayor should not threaten to close a museum. "To like or dislike, he should have invited people to the museum to do a panel and a discourse, to say in the panel 'I do not like the work' or 'I like the work', and let's have a discussion."

After the Ramat Gan Museum was closed for many years, it reopened last week.

Shama HaCohen came to the opening exhibition and noticed David Riv's work "Jerusalem", in which the sentences "Jerusalem of gold" and "Jerusalem of shit" were written next to a picture of the ultra-Orthodox praying at the Western Wall.

The mayor claimed the piece was racist and offensive, and following his request, the piece was removed by curator Oded Abramovsky.

"The mayor did not notice a great deal of other work that is even more difficult," Shamir said, arguing that the decision to remove the work was not within the mayor's authority.

"He can not decide what happens within the walls of the museum."

Coverage of the works in the museum, today (Photo: Walla !, Tali Kayem, Michal Shamir)

A quarrel and the Association for Civil Rights sued the decision to remove the work, and yesterday the district court ruled that it is prohibiting a temporary restraining order to remove the work.

In addition, an urgent hearing on the petition was scheduled for another two days.

However, her mother Cohen decided to remove the work despite the interim injunction.

"The work that despises Jerusalem, the Western Wall and the ultra-Orthodox has been removed and in fact despises us all," he wrote on Facebook.

"As early as yesterday, the work was removed so that any temporary restraining order against its removal has no practical significance until a different decision.

More on Walla!

A series on the Katsav affair, Yehuda Levy will play an ultra-Orthodox: What is expected to come up in yes this year?

To the full article

The work of art that caused the storm (Photo: Official website, David Reeb)

Following the move, the Civil Rights Association appealed to the court to order the mayor to re-hang the work in the museum pending a hearing.

The court issued a temporary interim injunction reserved for the museum to return the work - but the museum did not.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) there will be a hearing on the issue in court.

"The Supreme Court ruled at the time that cultural institutions have autonomy," says Shamir.

"The mayor has many important roles, being the curator or censor of an art exhibition is not one of them. Despite the court's interim order, the mayor has ordered the work to be taken down."

• culture

Tags

• Ramat Gan Museum

• David Reeb

• censorship

• Freedom of Expression

• Carmel Shama-Hacohen