"A new eye-catcher" - Dr. Christine Vogt about RED HEELS

“A new eye-catcher” – Dr. Christine Vogt about RED HEELS

February 13, 2021

We lead our RED HEELS-Countdown continues – this time with Dr. Christine Vogt in conversation with our social media volunteer Karoline Seck.

KS: How long and where do you know Heiner Meyer?

CV: For our exhibition "LET'S BUY IT! - ART AND SHOPPING" in 2017, I included works by Heiner Meyer in a presentation for the first time. The Witten art collector Detlef H. Mache sent me a catalogue and then made personal contact.

KS: How did you come up with the idea that the “pink castle” should have red high heels?

CV: Heiner Meyer came up with the idea, of course. The plinth in front of the LUDWIGGALERIE, where Keith Haring's "Head through Belly" used to be on display, has been empty for a few years. I thought for a long time about who I could ask to design something for it. And so, in response to my request, Heiner Meyer made a few designs and the shoe pyramid was convincing.

RED HEELS – Designs in the exhibition, exhibition view, 2021 © LUDWIGGALERIE Schloss Oberhausen

KS: What steps were necessary to realize the project?

CV: First of all, the design is of course the central point. Then we considered what it would take. When I presented the project to the board of the Friends of the LUDWIGGALERIE, our first chairwoman Jutta Kruft-Lohrengel immediately offered to help with it. We have her to thank for this wonderful civic engagement.

KS: How long did it take from the idea to the unveiling of the sculpture?

CV: A little over two years. The actual implementation with all the trades only took about half a year.

KS: How did the financing process for the sculpture go?

CV: Jutta Kruft-Lohrengel asked various companies whether they could imagine supporting us. And they could. Klöckner provided us with the steel. Apparatebau Franken made the cutout and coordinated everything (it wouldn't have worked without Mr Franken!), Diekmann office calculated the extremely complicated statics and wefa in Essen donated the special paint. Finally, we did a crowdfunding campaign through the Friends' Circle, which raised almost €8.000. This will cover any costs that may still arise for preparing the base, etc.

Screenshot of the page of “Oberhausen Crowd”

It should also be mentioned here that Heiner Meyer also gave us the design. I would like to thank everyone - and here I would like to specifically mention the city of Oberhausen, which always supports us in an exemplary manner - for this great commitment to the LUDWIGGALERIE!

KS: What was the process of creating an exhibition “around the sculpture”?

CV: When we had chosen the design, Heiner Meyer said: "You always do themed exhibitions. So you have to do something about shoes in art." At first I thought: "No, that doesn't interest me at all." But then I thought about what there is to know about the subject from an art historical perspective. And it is a really broad field and a fascinating topic.

KS: Why red high heels?

CV: In Pop Art, the shoe, especially the women's shoe, has played a central role from the very beginning. And this is also the case in the work of Heiner Meyer. As a fetish, ideal of beauty and of course status symbol, the shoe is an indispensable detail. This is how the shape came about and red was a natural choice as a signal colour, the colour of love and desire, and of course goes perfectly with the pink castle.

KS: Where in the LUDWIGGALERIE will the sculpture be installed?

CV: As already mentioned, there is a large sculpture base directly next to the main building of the LUDWIGGALERIE. The approximately six-meter-high shoe pyramid will be on display there in the future.

KS: What will the sculpture mean for Oberhausen?

CV: I hope that it will quickly become a landmark and a small landmark. The location on Konrad-Adenauer-Allee means that many Oberhausen guests who drive to the Centro, for example, will RED HEELS And it will certainly be a new eye-catcher for the people of Oberhausen too. This means that the castle can once again be associated with art as you drive past.