{"id":340383,"date":"2026-07-15T01:27:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T01:27:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/340383\/"},"modified":"2026-07-15T01:27:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T01:27:10","slug":"foot-notes-exhibition-explores-shoes-and-social-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/340383\/","title":{"rendered":"Foot Notes exhibition explores shoes and social meaning"},"content":{"rendered":"

Could anyone go without shoes for even a day? Footwear is one of those important things most of us take for granted, an everyday object that we nevertheless can\u2019t live without. Now a new exhibition open at The Wolfsonian\u2013FIU uses the museum\u2019s extensive collection of 19th- and early 20th-century design objects to adjust our perceptions of the things we put on our feet.<\/p>\n

Far from a mere collection of footwear through the ages, \u201cFoot Notes: Shoes, Symbolism & Society,\u201d which is on display through Feb. 28, 2027, defies expectations from the very start. In the first room, a hulking pair of Nazi overboots, used by German infantry to guard against frigid Russian winters during World War II, serves as the centerpiece of a display on the symbolism of footwear.<\/p>\n

\"It It was the X-ray Shoe Sizer, circa 1946, that inspired curator Danielle Charlap to create an exhibition about shoes. Simplex for X-Ray Shoe Fitter, Inc., Milwaukee, Wisconsin, manufacturer. Wood, glass, metal. 48 x 24 x 36 inches (Courtesy of The Wolfsonian\u2013Florida International University, Miami Beach, The Mitchell Wolfson, Jr. Collection) <\/p>\n

Propaganda posters from the era from both the democratic United States and the Axis powers surround the imposing, heavy-duty boots, covered in animal hair and insulation. If one were to imagine a real-life version of Orwell\u2019s vision of \u201ca boot stamping on a human face,\u201d this would be it.<\/p>\n

\u201cFoot Notes\u201d is the first show at the Wolfsonian by Danielle Charlap, who joined the museum as curator in November 2025 and describes working at the museum as \u201ca dream job.\u201d Charlap got the idea for the show not from a shoe, but from a bizarre machine she found in the Wolfsonian\u2019s collection catalog: a shoe sizer that beams X-rays at people\u2019s feet. The dangerous-in-hindsight 1940s contraption inspired the curator to dig deeper into the museum\u2019s holdings, uncovering everything from propaganda and advertising artifacts to \u201crandom recreational footwear\u201d like ice skates and bouncing toy \u201crocket shoes\u201d with springs attached to the soles.<\/p>\n

\"Design Design drawing, \u201cFoire de Paris Mai 1939 (Fair of Paris, May 1939),\u201d c. 1939, France. Gouache and graphite on paper. 48 x 32 in. (Courtesy of The Wolfsonian\u2013Florida International University, Miami Beach, The Mitchell Wolfson, Jr. Collection) <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are not a fashion museum, but it turns out we had so many materials related to shoes,\u201d Charlap says. \u201cIt really just became a lens into the collection, and I remember in the beginning we were thinking, was there enough material? And it turns out there was way too much.\u201d<\/p>\n

While most of the show is sourced from the Wolfsonian\u2019s holdings, a few key works were secured through loans. The Ferragamo shoes came from the company\u2019s museum in Florence, for instance. Though the show is light on sneakers due to the collection\u2019s focus on objects from before 1950, they did manage to secure a gaudy \u201cSolid Gold\u201d Adidas sneaker from the Miami Shoe Museum designed by Jeremy Scott. The shoe ties together a section on the theme of Mercury, the Greco-Roman messenger god who wore winged sandals. Posters for Goodyear Tires and the 1939 Foire de Paris retail expo flank the flamboyant shoe.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, the show features extensive discussion of the materials used to make shoes and how industrial processes and design innovations changed the nature of our everyday footwear. Two sections profiling famous designers highlight this ingenuity.<\/p>\n

\"Salvatore Salvatore Ferragamo\u2019s \u201cRainbow\u201d (1938) was designed by Salvatore Ferragamo for Judy Garland. Suede, gilded leather, leather and cork. (Photo courtesy Museo Ferragamo, Florence) <\/p>\n

A display of vintage shoes by Salvatore Ferragamo details both the Italian designer\u2019s reputation as \u201cshoemaker to the stars\u201d and the constraints he faced during his career. One rainbow-colored shoe with a bulky heel, created for singer Judy Garland in 1938, uses lightweight cork, while other models repurpose cellophane and rattan, a result of creativity enforced by the economic and political environment of fascist Italy.<\/p>\n

A set of different imperatives motivated the work of Beth Levine, the pioneering designer behind the Herbert Levine brand. Though the sexism of the times forced Beth to take a back seat to her husband as the face of the company, her work dominated the mid-20th century American shoe market and brought avant-garde ideas into shoe design. Most famously, Levine pioneered the fashion boot, giving the utilitarian footwear a sleek, feminine form that sparked a craze after Nancy Sinatra wore the boots to promote her hit song \u201cThese Boots Are Made for Walkin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"One One of the most unique artworks welcomes visitors in the museum\u2019s Art Deco lobby: A giant inflatable pair of legs wearing stiletto heels by artist Ann Slavit. \u201cDella (Waiting),\u201d 20-foot, inflatable sculpture, 1978. (Photo courtesy of the Wolfsonian-FIU, Copyright Ann Slavit) <\/p>\n

Other innovations include the \u201cno-shoe,\u201d a heel secured to stockings via adhesive that serves as a precursor to more contemporary designs such as Demna Gvasalia\u2019s \u201cSpeed Trainer\u201d sneaker-socks for Balenciaga.<\/p>\n

One of the most unique artworks welcomes visitors in the museum\u2019s Art Deco lobby: A giant inflatable pair of legs wearing stiletto heels. The sculpture by artist Ann Slavit, titled \u201cDella (Waiting),\u201d serves as a commentary on the degradation of women in the media. Slavit designed and named the artwork after Della Street, played by Barbara Hale, the secretary to lawyer Perry Mason on the 1950s and \u201960s legal drama of the same name. While Street is depicted as a staunch professional in the show itself, Slavit observed that the camera consistently cut to her legs, servicing the male gaze and objectifying the character.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was thinking about, as I was growing up in the \u201850s, how crazy it was that the moms around us were literally wearing high heels all day long just to take care of the kids, cook, do laundry. Because there were less and less women working at that time, at least in my memory,\u201d Slavit recalls. \u201cI was also aware of billboards where they were using women to sell cars, or objectifying women by body parts, and that memory kind of stayed with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Design Design drawing, Harry cip\u00f6paszta vezet (Harry Shoe Polish is in the Lead), c. 1925; Hungary, Budapest Gouache, watercolor, ink, and graphite on paper, 8 7\/8 x 13 7\/8 in. (Courtesy of The Wolfsonian\u2013Florida International University, Miami Beach, The Mitchell Wolfson, Jr. Collection) <\/p>\n

As well as being a collision between feminism and pop art, two of the dominant movements at the time, \u201cDella (Waiting)\u201d also serves as an early example of inflatable art, a medium made famous in recent times by the likes of KAWS and Cyril Lancelin. Slavit decided to allow the piece to be used in the show after some discussion with Charlap about the show\u2019s concept, and the idea of exploring history and changing social trends through common objects. In the process, the artist herself ended up connecting the same childhood experiences she\u2019d used in her art with some of the objects in the show.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was talking about the X-ray machine, and I had forgotten all about it, but I actually remember that from getting shoes,\u201d Slavit says. \u201cI think it takes a kind of awareness to point these things out, because we take them for granted. Like now, people are okay about wearing sneakers\u2026When I was growing up, you never wore sneakers unless you were playing a sport. I mean, you put them on to play basketball, but you didn\u2019t walk around in sneakers. No one walked around in sneakers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Toy, Toy, \u201cRocket Shoes,\u201d c. 1953, United States. Metal, paint, 6\u00bd x 5 x 10\u00bd inches. (Courtesy of The Wolfsonian\u2013Florida International University, Miami Beach, Florida, The Mitchell Wolfson, Jr. Collection) <\/p>\n

It\u2019s a powerful observation: Few things change more quickly and dramatically than fashion.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re moving so fast that, in a way, slowing down to think about what we\u2019re wearing means a lot,\u201d Slavit says. \u201cWhere is it made? Who made it? All those kinds of questions.\u201d<\/p>\n

WHAT: \u201cFoot Notes: Shoes, Symbolism & Society\u201d<\/p>\n

WHEN: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday. Through Feb. 28, 2027.<\/p>\n

WHERE: The Wolfsonian \u2013FIU, 1001 Washington Ave., Miami Beach<\/p>\n

COST: $12 for adults, $8 for seniors, students with ID, and children ages 6 to 18; free for Florida residents, children under 6, state university system students, faculty and staff, and active U.S. military and veterans with ID.<\/p>\n

INFORMATION: 305-531-1001 or wolfsonian.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

ArtburstMiami.com is a nonprofit media source for the arts featuring fresh and original stories by writers dedicated to theater, dance, visual arts, film, music and more. Don\u2019t miss a story at www.artburst.com.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Could anyone go without shoes for even a day? Footwear is one of those important things most of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":340384,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124],"class_list":["post-340383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340383","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=340383"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340383\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/340384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=340383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=340383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=340383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}