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Hans Peter Alvermann is regarded as one of the key figures in German pop art during the 1960s. His work is distinguished by a critical perspective that he also applied to his political opposition to the Vietnam War and the German Emergency Acts. One particularly well-known work, Deutsche Notstandsschwein (“German Emergency Pig”), sparked a series of legal battles and led him to temporarily step away from his art. This piece features a piggy bank painted in black, red, and gold, adorned with a swastika. Alvermann faced charges for using unconstitutional symbols and disparaging national emblems, but was ultimately acquitted.

His sculpture Muett Pour Le Souper Du Roi (“Silence for the King's Supper”) presents two feet, one painted red. The title presumably references the Symphonies pour les soupers du Roi – music performed during royal dinners in France, symbolizing the opulence and status of the monarchy starting from the Middle Ages. The feet may symbolize the act of kneeling before a sovereign, possibly reflecting the artist’s critique of contemporary leaders who maintained relations with dictatorships in countries like South Africa and Spain.

Text: Ilka Hagen, Research Trainee