Final Score:
SHOE PIECE
- Gather a few participants
- Get all participants to take off their shoes (socks stay on)
- Put on two new shoes, each one from a different pair
- Note the shoe’s feeling
- Walk in one big circle, clockwise, seven times
- Take off shoes, return to owners
- Put your shoes back on
Artist Statement:
The aim of SHOE PIECE was to, quite literally, allow the participants to experience what it is like to walk around in another person’s shoes. Part of SHOE PIECE’s goal was to approach the common saying “Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes” in a more playful and interactive way. While some might see this as a satire or subversion of that phrase, especially as the participants wear shoes from two different pairs, SHOE PIECE does want its participants to appreciate interacting with each other in a way that many people don’t. Shoes may universal, but each has a lot to say about the individual that owns them. As for inspirations, the Fluxus movement is an obvious influence, with particular regards to the work of Yoko Ono. Another influence, specifically in regards to the fifth step of SHOE PIECE’s score, was the Celtic tradition of Sacred Springs / Holy Wells. From the time of the druids until well into the 18th century, many people in Ireland would congregate in secret at Sacred Springs and walk around it seven times while a priest read a blessing or, later on, a passage from the bible for good luck from the spring. This tradition, which I experienced while in Ireland, really made you think about the land you were walking over and, had there been a priest there, and the blessings or verses/hymns you were listening to.
Documentation:
Notes –
People had very different reactions to the shoes (sometimes comfortable, sometimes uncomfortable)
Walking in the repetitive shape helped with feeling the shoes
Some shoes didn’t fit
People got dizzy from walking in the circles
Started walking in their own circles, before the big one
Everyone talking about size, how the shoes felt (insert, comfort, style, size)
Variable size good
Variant Blind shoe swap could also be interesting (finding owner of shoes could be interesting)
Interesting Gender perspective (different styles for men and women, different shoe sizes, etc.)
Photos –
