Who are these revelers, and what’s with their massive clodhoppers? Are they from a future prone to dinky flash floods? Are these shoes weighted to deal with low gravity? Or are they victims of a dystopian heightocracy?
These blue foam shoes are the brainchild of German artist Hans Hemmert of the Ignes Idee art collective. In 1997, this project – “Level” – was a part of the Galerie Gebauer Berlin’s “Personal Absurdities” show. Hemmert held a party during which guests donned shoe-enhancements. The extenders catapulted antendees up to 2 meters, rendering all party-goers eye level. The shoes denoted the guests real height. Was Hemmert trying to create an egalitarian, height-blind society or brand the wee guests as vertically disinclined?
In any case, that soiree looked like a hoot. You can find similarly whimsical projects at the Ignes Idee website and details about Hemmert’s project here.
[via Core 77]
