Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation

The Art and Sole section of The Shoe Must Go On! celebrates the creativity of artists with shoe-inspired art works. This week, Sue Simek, in the Morris Museum’s public relations office, spoke to four artists represented in the exhibition about their work and inspirations, and, of course, shoes:

Willie Cole is a New Jersey-based artist who transforms found objects in his art:

My experience with shoes is similar to my experience with using the steam iron in my work. I found one [an iron] on the street, took it apart, and treated it like a Tinkertoy. I think of these objects as fractals or pixels or cells, and rework them so they don’t resemble the original object. I don’t know what the final work will look like while it is in process. Think of it as buying a jigsaw puzzle in a plastic bag – but without the picture – you work on putting it together, without a clear guide, and finally the picture emerges.

The Venus sculpture at the museum is an early piece, and was my first attempt at a full body work using female shoes. Previously I had used shoes to create couches, chairs and masks. I had the Venus of Willendorf sculpture image in my head. I was inspired by my knowledge of art history, African and tribal cultures and also my love of cartoons. The scarification in the title refers to punched out stars, and designs in the leather.

Venus of Willendorf (Naturhistorische Museum, Vienna) and Black Patent Leather Venus with Scarification (1993)

I am drawn to objects with a strong history, like high heels. My mom loves high heels, and is still wearing them, at (almost) age 75. I started buying shoes at the Salvation Army’s warehouse in Paterson, NJ, which distributes clothing to other Salvation Army stores. I was looking for an object for my artwork that would be available in massive quantities, and there were more high heeled shoes than anything else – in many different colors and textures. I went back several times, and to other thrift shops in my travels, and within a year I had millions of high heeled shoes. At one point I stored them in a 3,000 square foot helicopter hangar! There are many colors, but right now I’m using mainly black, white and red shoes in my work. •

Sole Brother Number 1. This shoe poster is available in the Morris Museum’s gift shop.

Before you walk into the exhibition galleries, you see Toronto-based artist Marina Dempster’s work Immune (2008), which boldly announces that this is no ordinary shoe show. Marina talks here about her work and inspiration:

I flew down from Toronto to install Immune at the Morris Museum, just in time for the Girls’ Night Out event.

I love the potential of shoes to tell stories and I think that they say a lot about the person wearing them. The shoes I create are magical shoes – living and breathing – and you become a part of them when you envision slipping your feet into them. I think you can step into a sculpture, and it becomes a part of you, too.

Marina Dempster

I was strongly influenced by a Huichol artist who came to Toronto, when I participated in his workshop using traditional Huichol techniques.

The Huicholes are an indigenous Mexican group, in danger of losing their community. I was born in Mexico, and feel a resonance with the Huichol culture and their belief in the reciprocal nature of taking care of the planet. Their techniques use beeswax and resin to hold beads and yarn in place on a surface – the method used in Immune. You have probably seen yarn paintings like this one.

From the Huichol Center

In Immune, the beads on the shoes provide visual beauty of course, and also tactile sensitivity – you don’t see them, but there are beads on the soles of the shoes as well as the uppers. The quills are balancing mechanisms, connecting to animal nature, and with humor, I also think of these quills as a means of self preservation.

This is a very labor-intensive artform, where it takes a lot of time to anchor each bead or feather. To me, the materials used are a perfect metaphor for the busyness in our lives (the busy bees creating wax), balanced by the slow, flowing nature of the work (the slowness in creation and flow of resin/sap). The process becomes a metaphor. I am guided by the philosophy “Paths are made by walking” (Antonio Machado) • (more…)

The third in our four-part guest series from our friends and partners at the Morris Museum and their “The Shoe Must Go On!” exhibit. If you haven’t seen it yet, you have until August 29th!

By Linda Moore
Chief Operating Officer and co-curator of the exhibit

As plans for The Shoe Must Go On! progressed, I realized that this exhibition could continue to evolve beyond the initial opening. Interest grew as more visitors saw the show, and we sensed that more special objects might “walk in” and become part of the exhibition. We saw this as an opportunity to foster deeper connections with our visitors because everyone has a favorite shoe story.

New York Giants’ George Martin’s shoes

Seeing the shoes in the gallery, visitors often thought about unusual shoes or individuals who may have some shoe-worthy accomplishments. One Morris Museum Trustee had this reaction – and reached out to former New York Giants defensive end George Martin. Martin walked across the United States to raise money for medical care for the first responders to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. He walked from New York City’s George Washington Bridge to San Diego, from September 16, 2007 to June 21, 2008, covering over 3000 miles, using 27 pairs of shoes, and raising $2 million dollars. A pair of Martin’s shoes that made the journey is now on display at the museum, along with a football commemorating his walk. (Take a look at this picture, and consider – how does your shoe compare to the size of a football!)

New York City-based artist Madeleine Appell is a quilter who, earlier this year, made her first visit to the Morris Museum for the popular exhibition, Art Quilts: Contemporary Expressions from the Collection of John M. Walsh III. When she heard about the upcoming shoe exhibition, she promised herself a return visit. When she came to see The Shoe Must Go On! earlier this summer, she brought her quilt, Fancy Footwork, with her. Serendipity was at work that day, as I happened to be available when she inquired at the admissions desk if she could meet me and show me the work. Now Fancy Footwork is hanging on the gallery wall, in close proximity to the “Shoe Madness” display case. “Shoe Madness” is a display of shoe-inspired objects ranging from a cookie jar to a silk scarf to a collection of miniature shoes.

Fancy Footwork quilt by Madeleine Appell

Talking about this quilt, Appell said, “My love of shoes, fashion and making art quilts meshed when I decided to make the Fancy Footwork quilt in 2008. The quilt represents a range of shoe styles that were aesthetic, unique, well-designed and personally appealing.” One of her inspirations for the work was the 2008 exhibition Sole Desire: The Shoes of Christian Louboutin at the Fashion Institute of Technology in March 2008. Louboutin “trash mules” made from recycled materials are on view in the “Green Shoes” section of the exhibition.

Many shoes attract interest because of the historic importance or celebrity status of the owner, rather than the style or uniqueness of the shoe itself. General David Petraeus has been prominently featured in the front page news recently. His well-worn Army boot can be seen in the History and Politics section of the exhibition. Did you know that General Petraeus is a distinguished representative of the great state of New Jersey, where he earned a Masters in Public Affairs and Ph.D. in International Relations from Princeton University?

General David Petraus’ boot

And just added to the exhibition is this high heeled shoe featuring icons of the New York City skyline. I came across these shoes in the collection of a vintage costume dealer and was fascinated by their mixture of high style and novelty – a sort of “Sex and the City”-inspired glamour! The skyline includes the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, and World Trade Center Towers. Check them out in the Art & Sole section of the exhibition.

Heels with custom New York City skyline design

Keep an eye out for more shoes in the news!

* * *
The Morris Museum is open Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sundays 1 to 5 p.m. We are closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

Admission: $10 for adults; $7 for children/students/seniors.
General admission is free on Thursdays from 5 to 8 p.m.

Guided tours of the exhibition are offered every Saturday at 1 p.m.

When you visit the Morris Museum’s The Shoe Must Go On! exhibition, donate a pair of shoes and receive $1.00 off admission. All shoe donations go to “CUMAC – Feeding People and Changing Lives” in Paterson, NJ.

Please note, the museum will be closed to the public from August 9 to August 15, inclusive.

Welcome back to the Shoe Diaries, our guest blog series in conjunction with the Morris Museum’s “The Shoe Must Go On!” exhibit.

Last week we heard from Linda Moore, Chief Operating Officer at the Museum. Today’s post comes from Jerilyn MacLaren-Hall who has visited The Shoe Must Go On! exhibition many times, and joined the party for Girls’ Night Out. She is an Experience Design (XD) Strategist at MISI Company.

Jerilyn MacLaren-Hall

Allow me to begin with: I love shoes.

I am obsessed with them and the obsession apparently started at a very early age. My mom often tells her friends that I changed my shoes 5 and 6 times a day when I was little to make sure they all got a fair chance to strut their stuff at least once before I grew out of them. My husband tells his version of my first time meeting his parents down in Florida and the confusion caused by my 2 large suitcases for a 3 day trip. His explanation to his Dad: “the first suitcase is what you would expect from a girl. The second? It’s all shoes. Shoes for every outfit and an outfit for every possible occasion…”.

Shoes from That’s Entertainment Section of the exhibition

When Linda Moore first told me about the exhibit, it was Christmas-time 2009. We were having a larger conversation about how visitors experience the museum and more importantly, how they become aware and engaged by it. The shoe exhibit was one of many Linda would tell me about that night as a hook for getting me engaged and ready to contribute. She had me at shoes.

Later on, I would come to learn that this exhibit wasn’t just about fashion shoes though – it was about much much more. This exhibit would take an age old discussion of what shoes say about the woman and expand it to really touch upon, what do shoes tell us about the artist who created them, the person who is wearing them, and ultimately, the society that is endorsing them. This exhibit would tell a story of patriarchies and matriarchies yes, but it would also tell us stories of national politics, global warming, the gold medal dreams of youth, and lastly, our human story and the steps walked to get us where we are today.

Mother’s Day at the exhibit opening : my Mom (Marilyn MacLaren) with Linda Moore, Morris Museum COO

I took my Mom to the exhibit on Mother’s Day (this would be the first of several visits to this exhibit for me). It was probably one of the most lovely and engaging afternoons I have spent with Mom – not because of the disco shoes that gave us a good giggle, but because of the sense of awe that a pair of bound feet shoes can always stir in any onlooker. This wasn’t my first time seeing shoes like those, but it was my first time talking with my Mom about what it must have been like to be so defined by an article of clothing, and an article that was hidden no less! Even at an early age, my Mom always made sure I knew – “NEVER be defined by what you wear, or how you look. Instead, define your clothes by how you wear them – and define yourself by how you behave and what you think.” But what about the women who wore those tiny shoes? Did the shoes really define them? Or did they just fulfill a societal / public duty that behind the scenes, in the private sphere, was completely different?

A proud moment for me shoe-wise, at Girls’ Night Out shoe party

This exhibit was striking to both of us because no matter which shoes we were looking at, our conversation focused on the “who,” not the “what.” Even as we purred over zebra, it was less the height of the heel and more its design (and its designer) that we talked about. We admired the sense of play he expressed in creating a heel that made no logical sense when you thought about wearing it, and yet – has a heel ever made sense?

I fell in love with Etu Evans’s zebra striped “Harp Heel” shoe – and was thrilled to meet him.

In my mind, shoes are a powerful weapon. They can reveal so much about who we are and what we value (and I don’t mean labels). My favorite pair? A pair of basic black patent leather Tahari pumps with heels so torn and chewed I couldn’t even give them to Goodwill if I wanted to. They are nothing special to look at (truth be told, they never were), but the memories of first sales pitches won, promotions earned, and most importantly, Friday evening 7pm dashes through Dulles Airport to get home to my family, give them a place in my shoe rack that could never be filled by a newer, shinier, pair.

Welcome to Shoe Diary Wednesdays!

We are pleased to partner with the Morris Museum on a guest blog series for the next four Wednesdays to highlight their current exhibition, The Shoe Must Go On. The exhibition includes over 300 different shoes and explores shoes from many different “walks” of life.

This first shoe diary entry comes from Linda Moore, Chief Operating Officer of the Museum and co-curator of the exhibition. Read more to discover how one exhibit can embrace such diverse individuals as Mary, Queen of Scots, Derek Jeter and General David Petraeus!

From the “Art and Sole” section of the exhibit: shoe artist Marina Dempster’s Immune (2008)

What comes to mind when you consider shoes? High fashion accessories that you love, and can’t get enough of? Athletic footwear that will improve your performance? Or perhaps it’s the unique footwear you’ve encountered in global travels?

In planning the shoe exhibition, I was intrigued by the fascinating stories embedded in this common object (which people have been wearing for about 40,000 years according to anthropologists). When you look at a shoe, it may excite you visually as a work of art; it may surprise you with the contemporary styling depicted in historical shoes such as Martha Washington’s slippers, or it may intrigue you that until the early 20th century, Chinese women had bound feet to fit in tiny shoes, 3” long, or that contemporary women squeeze their feet into high fashion shoes with 7” heels.

Because we all wear footwear, the shoes on view have universal appeal, and provide unique insights into design, work and entertainment, across time, culture and geography.

Chinese shoes for bound feet, on loan from the Newark Museum

The museum’s Costume Curator, Elizabeth Laba and I started planning the exhibition by exploring the museum’s historic costume holdings. We were fascinated by the way the humble shoe provided a springboard for more than 15 different themes for the exhibition, ranging from History and Politics to Celebrity Shoes to Sports and Recreation.

For example, for the show’s opening, we hosted a Girls’ Night Out party. One of our visitors, who is a self-proclaimed “shoe-aholic “ and an Anglophile who focuses on Tudor history, came to the event. Upon seeing Mary, Queen of Scots’ shoe, her reaction was, “Wow, that shoe is pretty small, considering that the Queen was 6 feet tall!” I learned something new about Mary, Queen of Scots, and my friend had a new perspective on someone about whom she has read volumes.

Another visitor came to the party looking forward to an all-fashion evening – and wound up texting her 13 year old son several times, with pictures of athletic shoes from sports greats such as Derek Jeter, Muhammad Ali and Mark Sanchez.

Shoes from famous athletes

While the Morris Museum has a significant costume collection, this exhibition was enriched by loans from other cultural and historical organizations, including the Newark Museum, Museum of Early Trades and Crafts, Morris County Historical Society at Acorn Hall and the National Park Service at Washington Headquarters, and Thomas Edison National Historical Park, as well as many individual lenders.

In curating the exhibition, we also reached out to many distinguished individuals with special ties to New Jersey. This enhanced the exhibition with contributions ranging from Yogi Berra’s athletic shoes; to Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s cast, which she wore when she broke her ankle during Senate confirmation hearings; to General David Petraeus’s army boot.

Please share your shoe stories with us! Post a comment about the most interesting shoes you’ve seen or the favorite pair you owned, or, if you’ve seen the exhibit, please tell us which were your favorites!

* * *

The Morris Museum is open Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sundays 1 to 5 p.m. We are closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

Admission: $10 for adults; $7 for children/students/seniors.
General admission is free on Thursdays from 5 to 8 p.m.

Guided tours of the exhibition are offered every Saturday at 1 p.m.

When you visit the Morris Museum’s The Shoe Must Go On! exhibition, donate a pair of shoes and receive $1.00 off admission. All shoe donations go to “CUMAC – Feeding People and Changing Lives” in Paterson, NJ.

Please note, the museum will be closed to the public from August 9 to August 15, inclusive.

Michelle Knapik, Environment Program Director

Connect the Dots by Sarah Nagorski

Last Thursday’s reception at Artworks was designed to bring together Art All Night (AAN) artists with Art All Night purchasers. At first, the scene felt like a large-scale blind date mixer. As a caller on the microphone sounded the name of the artist as the art work was paraded out and handed to the purchaser. But even this quirky, public introduction had some magic to it. There was a rush of supporting artist friends, camera flashes, and hearty handshakes. Then came the most authentic, heartwarming, and inspirational stories. For me, it was a deep dive into the title of the photo, Connect the Dots.

Photographer Sarah Nagorski is all of 19 years old and still in design school. She began by describing her subject matter, a close-up of an installation at Grounds for Sculpture, along with her technique (B&W that she colorized). Take a good look at the signature she added while sitting cross-legged on the floor of the exhibition space at Artworks – it is her first signed piece, and this was her first art sale. She even added a handwritten note on the back of the photo. Guess who was more touched?

To think, a near second degree sunburn almost kept her from AAN, but she said her suffering was worth it when she saw the red “sold” dot on her photograph. She was in disbelief. I was in heaven, because I am often told that one of my professional roles is that of “connector.” This image spoke to me on every level – beauty, intensity, composition, symbolism, complexity and depth.

AML Journey by Lisa A. Snyder

At the same time, Lisa Snyder had made her way toward me to talk about her painting, AML Journey. AML is a type of leukemia – one that took the life of her mother almost a year ago to the date. Her father had succumbed to cancer in 2004. This painting, however, is filled with a curiosity for life; it is about exploration.  It also invites the viewer to keep coming back to check out its treasures, some to only be revealed to you in time. The whole theory of emergence is at play here as Lisa’s starting point is a series of dots on the page that she “makes something out of.”

Her process involves turning the painting on every side as she discovers new connections and images among the dots.

The red is for blood cells, but the free flow of art making was her way of freeing herself from the grief and moving toward a celebration of life. And where Sarah almost didn’t make it to AAN, Lisa almost didn’t bring this picture.

In fact, painting is not even her main art form. She is a studied glass and sculpture artist, and she is an accomplished web designer who brings the vision of small business practitioners to life in virtual and social networking worlds through Elle Eye Design . Lisa was literally in her basement the day of AAN when she saw this painting out of the corner of her eye, and based on the anniversary date of her mother’s death and her feeling about the piece, she grabbed it and headed for the event. It was hung in a space that was a bit dark, but it grabbed my eye immediately. Its whimsy intertwined with a touch of darkness and endless “looks” spoke to me.

Lisa’s goal was to have her art appear in a gallery before the age of 30. I’d say this is just the beginning of her gallery days. In fact, I mentioned to both young women that the Monmouth Museum has a New Jersey Emerging Artist program that is open to residents of NJ who have never had a one-person show. Lisa could enter art in any medium, but after reconnecting with the painting and the dot-by-dot process, she’s ready to embrace painting as her medium of choice for now.

By the end of our storytelling, Sarah and Lisa were talking to each other about hopes and dreams and directions. Sarah talked about needing a website and she now has Lisa’s business card. And I have already followed up with both of them via email (the photos of us with their respective pieces of art are courtesy of their friends and family).

Mixed by Travis Applegate

I regret that I didn’t get to meet Travis Applegate, whose painting, Mixed, seemed to fit in perfectly with my new collection of art and artist friends. But I did find this fitting quote from Travis on Virtual Art Assassination:

It was in Jersey City where my hunger and drive sent me into the streets of SoHo. I packed up all my art on a hand truck and squeezed my way into the SoHo art scene where I started spreading my art to people from all around the world. I was in SoHo consistently every weekend for a year or so until life brought me back down to central NJ. This is when I got big into Graffiti, Pop, Street Art and Mixed Medium Outsider Art. Also being into Indie-hip hop/ punk music, I started tying both together. They are two equal arts I use to document the truth, and express the man I am and my views/ feelings about life and or situations. This is when the concept “Art N Soul” came about and also when my band, The Autonomous Heartbeats, started to take shape. Now I’m currently doing shows with both my art and music. I will continue in this direction till the end of my physical form.”

This quote speaks to the connections among life’s dots and the stirring stories behind the art and artists. I know I can’t meet every artist behind every photo, painting, sculpture, jewelry, or craft I purchase, but the added dimension is priceless. I will think about Sarah’s young career every time I step into my office and see her photo of intertwined glass and metal. I will be inspired by Lisa’s journey every time I climb my stairs where her picture hangs at the top landing. And the power of Travis’s Street Art N Soul will push me to go beyond the walls of my living space. This was no ordinary reception, this event welcomed artist and art lover into each other’s lives. Three cheers for Artworks, especially to AAN founding visionary Michael Gumpert for this powerful post script to Art All Night.

Do you have an artist story behind a piece of art that moves you?