In 1997, Berlin-based conceptual artist Hans Hemmert, most famous for his work with balloons, hosted a party where guests wore shoe-extenders to make them all the same height of two metres. The shoes, all made from blue foam and strapped onto feet with Velcro, highlighted the wearer’s real height via the visual of the sole rather than the height of the head.
Entitled, Level, the project was produced for the "Personal Absurdities" show at Galerie Gebauer in Berlin.
Level has become widely recognised for its clever and thought-provoking engagement with notions of sameness, identity and social norms. Photographs from the event shows a room full of individuals, otherwise diverse in age, gender and build, standing at identical eye level.
Hemmert, who is also a member of the collective Inges Idee, is known for using humour and absurdity to explore cultural and social conventions.
The meaning of Level is layered. On the one hand, it comments on equality and uniformity. By equalising everyone’s height, the work seems to celebrate equality, yet it also reveals the absurdity of trying to make everyone physically identical. This touches on a broader truth — that true equality doesn’t require sameness. The piece also plays with the idea of what is “normal”. Why should a certain height be idealised? And what does it mean to literally force everyone to match that ideal?
Height has long been associated with power and influence. Taller men and women are considered to be more dominant, healthy and intelligent – and are more likely to be chosen for more competitive jobs. They also earn more money. Also, as pointed out by David Robson for a 2015 BBC piece, study after study has found that taller men and women are generally considered more attractive.
By flattening that hierarchy — quite literally — Hemmert asks us to consider how we perceive authority, confidence and worth. At the same time, the image created emphasises the absurdity of extreme standardisation.
Postscript
In July 2024, the Berlin-based type design studio Dinamo released ABC Pelikan, a sans serif font that celebrates Level by enabling designers to extend all letters – big or small – to the same height. It's nice to see the work being referenced and put to good use.
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References
somethingcurated.com/2019/08/28/the-german-artist-who-threw-a-party-where-everyone-saw-eye-to-eye
artsmania.ca/2018/10/04/interview-with-hans-hemmert
bbc.com/future/article/20150928-tall-vs-small-which-is-it-better-to-be
abcdinamo.com/news/pelikan-unicase-features
Images
Kavi Gupta Gallery
2. Hans Hemmert. Credit: LinkedIn
3. Installation view at Galerie Gebauer Berlin. © Hans Hemmert and VG Bild Kunst
4. Hans Hemmert, Level at Kunsthalle Hamburg, Contemporary: Doing Youth 2021
5. Level shoes. Credit: via Inges Idee
6. Mitchell, Robb & Encinas, Enrique & Kirman, Ben. (2020). Social Icebreakers Everywhere: A Day In The Life.
7. “Saturday afternoon, at home in Neukölln” (1995), latex balloon/air/artist/living room; lightbox slide, 43 x 62 cm, © Hans Hemmert and VG Bild Kunst
8. Pelikan font by Dinamo in Berlin. Credit: abcdinamo.com
