In Andy Warhol's early life as a commercial artist he loved, to the point of obsession, to draw women's shoes. He was broke and would exchange some of this 'shoe art' as payment for restaurant bills, using it as a kind of decorative currency. Today I am reminded of that sheer, goddamn sexy thrill he must have felt, when I bought some shoes. The tortuous impracticality of four inch heels suggests they are perhaps more a work of sculpture in themselves than being practical footwear. But practical isn't everything, it's that heart-skipping-a-beat, pupil-dilating moment of needing to possess that is very like the irrational urge to buy actual art, it's about something other than being sensible.
Incidentally, MOMA rejected Warhol's 1956 gift of a shoe picture, citing lack of storage space. He kept the letter.
Incidentally, MOMA rejected Warhol's 1956 gift of a shoe picture, citing lack of storage space. He kept the letter.
