Our curated shoe exhibit for this month is entitled “Nudes in Shoes” - and it will really knock your socks off!

The exhibit - which comprises ten works of art, dating from around 500 BCE through 1939 - is a fascinating look at women throughout history. Though the underlying theme is undeniably erotic, the women portrayed play myriad roles. Some are, of course, prostitutes, situated in the boudoir and wearing their reliably symbolic sheer stockings. Other of the paintings are more allegorical: The work of Felicien Rops illustrates his belief that women are the incarnation of evil; Hanns Ludwig Katz’s painting makes reference to the horrors of World War I; Nazi-era painter Adolf Ziegler’s work demonstrates the purity of the Aryan woman.

We see all kinds of shoes depicted in the exhibit: The woman depicted on the Greek vase has on flat, strappy sandals - it’s too early (and the wrong empire) for gladiators, perhaps instead she’s wearing the ancestor of the caged sandals we’ve been hearing so much about lately? We also see pointy-toed Crackows, boldly-colored slip-ons, heeled flip flops, even ankle boots (which, as the ladies from What Not To Wear might claim, can be a tough look to carry off when you’re nude).

And, even though you won’t hear our (or any) curator say it, one ancillary theme for the exhibit could even be that shoes are the least dispensable part of any ensemble.

8/11/08 Update: This exhibit was on display through August 8, 2008.