These Summer Of Love-era sneakers were designed by artist Peter Max, who is best known for his trippy, colorful and psychedelic designs of the 1960s and ’70s. As craft became a form of cultural commentary, wearable art was used as a symbol of the counterculture’s personal and political allegiances.
These sneakers had an original sale price of $3.97, and can now be found on auction sites such as eBay selling for, on average, about $600 per pair. The back of the sneaker has a grinning red mouth across it, part of which can be seen in the above photo.
Photographed as Part of the Exhibit Minimalism / Maximalism, on Through November 16, 2019 at the Museum at FIT in Manhattan .
Combs, (2016) By Hassan Sharif (All Photos By Gail)
We were first introduced to the suspended sculptures and assemblage art of Hassan Sharif in the exhibit Here and Elsewhere at the New Museum back in 2014. Right now, Alexander Gray Associates is hosting a exhibit of Sharif’s recent work, featuring sculptures and woven assemblages. Recognized as a pioneer of conceptual art and experimental practice in the United Arab Emirates over the past four decades, Sharif has transgressed traditional frameworks for art making by extending his practice to performance, installation, drawing, painting, and assemblage that integrates ordinary objects as the primary medium. The tapestry-like works in this exhibition are conceptually linked by their relationship with the human body and social structures.
Combs, Detail
For this series, the artist creates artworks from sourced inexpensive and mass-produced goods that he buys at local markets in his native Dubai. By cutting, bending, grouping, and braiding these cultural artifacts, he sheds their functionality to enhance their aesthetic and political significance. For Sharif, “the work is about consumerism. “I use cheap materials, ordinary things that are readily available in the market,” he explains.
Back to School (2015)
By weaving together, in the ancient tradition of tapestry making, ordinary objects consumed by today’s society, Sharif points both to the hyper-industrialization impacting everyday life and the abandonment of old traditions that were key to building strong bonds among the members of communities in the past. On his interest in unifying aspects of both the ancient and modern, the artist explains “I want to nurture new ways out of the old and present these in a contemporary visual and artistic context.”
Back to School, Detail
In Sharif’s body of work, the rhythmically repetitive act of weaving echoes the involuntary functions of the human body, such as swallowing, breathing, and blinking. At the same time, the materials deployed to create the works in this exhibition, including combs, nail clippers, masks, and gloves are traditionally used to modify or cover the body. Recently, Sharif has centered his production around large-scale wall sculptures that incorporate objects that as he describes, “people depend on greatly to keep up with their daily routines and activity. So long as they are alive, they keep using, exhausting, and relying on them as if they are, in one way or another, part of their own bodies.”
Masks (2016)
In Masks, Sharif creates a grid of many colored face masks which cascade towards the floor, tied to one another by their black ribbons to ultimately form an irregular fringe at the bottom of the sculpture. The artists notes that masks have “an important historical role. In the Middle East, women cover their faces with veils. In Africa [masks are] used in dances to ward off evil spirits. Hiding one’s identity has become increasingly important.”
Masks, Detail
Ladies and Gentlemen (2014)
For Ladies and Gentlemen, he assembled mass-produced and inexpensive female and male shoes, into a drape-like object that emphasizes seriality and the dislocation of functional objects. His use of shoes speaks to an interest in sexual politics across centuries and geographies; in the work, men and women occupy a common space, and are bound together with hand-painted papier maché and ropes. In this way, he refers to the intrinsic connection between individuals and society.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Detail
Sharif’s interest in visual accumulation, and in systematic production, calculations, and geometric permutations are apparent in his choice of material for Combs (2016). For this work, he assembled plastic combs in a variety of bright colors, which jut out from the wall at irregular angles creating a haphazard visual rhythm. For the artist, combs, widely used to tidy hair, exemplify the use of logic necessary in mass-production of consumer goods. As he explains, “the number of teeth, the distance between them, their length and thickness, all seem to be well calculated, and they have been so for thousands of years.” Sharif echoes the geometric precision of the combs by organizing them in a meticulous gridded pattern in space, following a calculated mathematical model of his own invention, to create a hanging tapestry.
New Works by Hassan Sharif will be on Exhibit Through May 14, 2016 at Alexander Gray Associates, Located at 510 West 26th Street, in the Chelsea Gallery District
Punching Bag (Left Background) and Artificial Leg (Right Foreground)
If anticipating a visit to Nike Town is as exciting to you as a trip to Disneyland, then The Rise of Sneaker Culture, an exhibit exploring the history and evolution of the popular footwear, on now at the Brooklyn Museum, is your wet dream.
Not that the Brooklyn Museum doesn’t know how to do an exhibit of shoes, because did you see the Killer Heels exhibit? That shit was just out of control. So maybe my expectations were too high. Because the only things separating the Rise of Sneaker Culture exhibit from a trip to buy new trainers were prices on the shoes and sales people walking around in referee shirts asking what size you wear. Yawn City.
The again, maybe gazing at rows of sneakers that you can buy anywhere displayed inside of Plexiglas cases gives you a boner, in which case here’s a little bit of exhibit hype from the museum’s website. “From their modest origins in the mid-nineteenth century to high-end sneakers created in the past decade, sneakers have become a global obsession. The Rise of Sneaker Culture is the first exhibition to explore the complex social history and cultural significance of the footwear now worn by billions of people throughout the world. The exhibition, which includes approximately 150 pairs of sneakers, looks at the evolution of the sneaker from its beginnings to its current role as status symbol and urban icon.” Woo.
I think these are antique high tops.
Included are works from the archives of manufacturers such as Adidas, Converse, Nike, Puma, and Reebok as well as private collectors such as hip-hop legend Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, sneaker guru Bobbito Garcia, and Dee Wells of Obsessive Sneaker Disorder.
Converse X Damien Hirst Butterfly Print Sneaker (2010)
Also featured are sneakers by Prada and other major fashion design houses and designers, as well as those made in collaboration with artists including Damien Hirst and Shantell Martin. This was my favorite part of the exhibit, and if all of the shoes were like this small sampling of sneakers, I would have been over the moon. Check these out.
These Christian Louboutin Roller-Boats (2012) feature Louboutin’s signature red soles and gold pony-skin uppers, embellished with aggressive studs. I can’t even imagine how much they cost.
Reebok X Alife Court Victory Pump “Ball Out,” Hot Pink (2007)
Thank god I found a Pink Shoe to write about! Alife’s reimagining of Reebok’s famous tennis shoe, the Court Victory Pump, went on to become one of the most sought-after sneakers. True to its name, Ball Out, the upper is cleverly made using tennis-ball-like material. The original release of the Ball Out was yellow, followed by a number of other bold colorways, including this fuzzy, bright pink version. I would wear them.
Film footage, interactive media, photographic images, and design drawings contextualize the sneakers and explore the social history, technical innovations, fashion trends, and marketing campaigns that have shaped sneaker culture over the past two centuries.
While you’re at the museum, add significant value to your visit by checking out the Faile Exhibit, Savage/Sacred Young Minds, which is just insane.
The Rise of Sneaker Culture will be on Exhibit Through October 4th, 2015 at the Brooklyn Museum, Morris A. and Meyer Schapiro Wing, 5th Floor.
Hey what’s up. I want to talk to you about my new sneakers. Not too long ago, I was given a couple of pairs of Shwings ‘shoe wings’ accessories to write about for The Gig. And then, even more recently, my friend Heather gave me a new pair of Hot Pink Converse sneakers. So, that was pretty good timing, because it meant I could put the Shwings on the Sneakers and make with the blogging. Win Win!
These are the sneakers that Heather gave me. How rad are they? Heather is the best. Not only do they look great but they fit perfectly and feel like little clouds on my feet.
This is my right foot in the Pink Converse Sneaker with the black studded Shwing laced onto the shoe. Don’t I look like I could take off and fly around the room? Sure I do.
These Shwings make my new shoes look completely fucking insane. I love them.
But you know what they say: Shwings. Makes old shoes new. Makes new shoes fly.
I believe this statement to be true.
In the two years since its inception, the Shwings brand has expanded to worldwide distribution and has grown from just twelve wings to over 150 styles in an array of fun shapes and colors. Shwings accessories can now be found in a variety of retailers, from luxury boutiques and concept stores to your local toy shop or convenience store. Shwings has gained worldwide popularity as a fun, affordable brand for people of all ages. You can also shop online for Shwings at This Link! Shwings bring smiles to people’s faces and fill them with a warm fuzzy feeling — life is FUN.
These colorful and comfy sneakers are part of the Attenborough-Naftel art exhibit, Yard Sale, on now through August 28th, 2014 at De Buck Gallery, located at 545 West 23rd Street in the Chelsea Gallery District.
I found these fun Nightmare Before Christmas-themed sneakers on Pinterest, but a few layers of link clicks revealed that they were part of a Buzzfeed list featuring 50 different pairs of custom painted sneakers. Click on “Image Source” hyperlink above to see the full list!
