Hansjörg Mayer, sau aus usa, 1965

Hansjörg Mayer

sau aus usa, 1965

Letterpress print on paper with signature and date in pencil on verso

48 x 48 cm

1943, Stuttgart, Germany– Immigrated to the UK in 1965 This is one of the few explicitly political examples of concrete poetry in the UK. Structured as a complex palindrome, the...

1943, Stuttgart, Germany–

Immigrated to the UK in 1965

This is one of the few explicitly political examples of concrete poetry in the UK. Structured as a complex palindrome, the grid can be read both horizontally and vertically to form aus (‘out’ in German), sau (‘pig’ in German and a common insult), and usa (United States of America). Produced during the years of the Vietnam War, the work compresses a biting political critique into a tightly ordered typographic grid.

William Allen Collection

Artworks in the collection

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