Herold enjoys the ambiguity created by dissonance between the materials and titles of his work. Named after a mountain in Switzerland, Muttler is part of a 1985 series called Deutschsprachige Gipfel (German-speaking peaks), featuring work Herold made from pairs of underwear stretched on wire armatures and placed atop pedestals of inexpensive particle board. Throughout the 1980s he frequently made artwork from cheaply sourced or found materials, such as roof slats and bricks—examples of what he called "rough, stupid materials that don’t ask questions." After defecting to West Germany from socialist East Germany in the 1970s, Herold met fellow artists Martin Kippenberger and Albert Oehlen and developed the satirical, socially critical stance that characterized the network of young artists working in and around Cologne in the 1980s.

Gallery label from

2013.

Medium Wire, underpants, and glue on base with lettering
Dimensions 12 5/8 x 10 3/4 x 13 5/8" (32.1 x 27.3 x 34.5 cm); 52 1/8 x 15 3/4 x 15 3/4" (100 x 40 x 40 cm) including 1997 refabricated wood base
Credit Gift of Werner and Elaine Dannheisser
Object number 181.1996.a-b
Department Painting & Sculpture

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