Die letzten 2 m der Hermy Eckert

On the front of the plain, unpainted wooden slat loosely wound with a length of steel wire are the letters, written in black felt pen: ‘Die letzten 2m der Hermy Eckert’. The title refers to a terminally ill woman whose suicide stirred up a storm of controversy about euthanasia in 1980s Germany. The work is a ‘multiple’, a term used in the visual arts for an artwork that is produced as part of a series. The Stedelijk Museum holds a varied collection of Herold’s multiples which are noted for their humor, irony, choice of materials and use of language. The artist’s initial choice of material holds no deeper meaning. It is only when Herold combines objects and materials, or when he chooses a title that is particularly apt or incisive, that an associative process is triggered.