‘Walk of Art’ shoes aren’t made for walking.
In a city that idolizes function and mobility, the shoes at “Walk of Art” look all the more fantastical. The exhibition, displaying over 50 pairs of women’s shoes designed by students and alumni of Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem, arrived to San Francisco on Nov. 7, with many of the items traveling across the country in a delivery truck.
Curated by fashion historian Ya’ara Keydar, an Israeli with a master’s degree in costume design from New York University, “Walk of Art” guided designers to explore the shoe’s symbolism, role and meaning in history and present day. While the original exhibition involved prominent Israeli designers and visionaries from a variety of disciplines, the San Francisco version focuses on Bezalel exclusively.
Far from being traditionally pretty or stereotypically feminine, “Walk of Art,” which is divided into categories such as Natura Morta, Art Form and Carved, is thought-provoking and visually stunning. One haunting example of the exhibition’s curious message is a piece called “Edge” by Israeli artist Sigalit Landau. Known for her ambitious multimedia projects, Landau suspended an ordinary pair of pumps in the Dead Sea, letting them crystallize and gain volume in salty layers.
Another pair, “Animalistic Nature” by artist Nimrod Gilo, is adorned with exposed animal bones, lending the shoes a menacing look but also a sense of fragility. A number of exhibits came together with the help of cutting-edge technologies such as 3-D printing and laser cutting, as well as industrial aides like polycarbonate glass fiber. Other footwear relies on artisanal techniques such as wood carving or calls for unexpected materials like porcelain, cork and hand-blown glass.
Some shoes imply BDSM motifs, and some borrow from the cult aesthetic of “Game of Thrones” or flirt with the artwork of Salvador Dali.
None of the pairs would endure even the shortest of walks, but then, according to Bezalel Academy’s president, Professor Adi Stern, utility was the last thing on the artists’ minds. Stern flew to the U.S to attend the opening and brought a couple of exhibits with him; namely, the extremely fragile salt shoes.
“The exhibition is really about expanding the minds of the viewers,” he says, “making them rethink the role of shoes in modern society, the restrictions and the possibilities they entail, as well as enjoying the creativity and playing with the eternal question: ‘Is it art?’ ”