Amherst Open Air Market – A Must Visit on Sundays,

Offering a vast array of locally grown and  produced items from vendors that are members of your community.

PEM Presents US. Debut Of  ‘Shoes: Pleasure And Pain’

SALEM, MA – The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) presents Shoes: Pleasure and Pain, an exhibition organized by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London that explores the creative potential, cultural significance and transformative power of footwear through more than 300 pairs, ranging from elaborate vintage designs to cutting-edge contemporary works by Manolo Blahnik, Christian Louboutin, Jimmy Choo and Prada. Examples from famed shoe collectors are shown alongside a dazzling range of works from PEM’s shoe collection, the largest of its kind in the country, many of which have never been displayed before. Shoes: Pleasure and Pain offers a global perspective on footwear fashion and tracks the latest developments in technology that open the possibility of ever higher heels and more dramatic shapes. The exhibition runs through March 12, 2017.

“Our feet are what ground us and help us move through the world,” says Lynda Roscoe Hartigan, PEM’s James B. and Mary Lou Hawkes Deputy Director and coordinating curator for the exhibition. “The shoes that we choose for walking are not just about protecting our feet. They project our mood, our identity and our place in the world. By altering stature, posture and gait, shoes signal to the world how you feel about yourself and want to be perceived by others.”

The exhibition is organized by the themes – Transformation, Status, Seduction, Creation and Obsession – and features shoes worn by high profile figures such as David Beckham, Elton John, Queen Elizabeth, Queen Victoria, Kylie Minogue and Daphne Guinness, as well as the now infamous blue platforms worn by Naomi Campbell during her runway fall in 1993. Works from the V&A’s superlative shoe collection are complemented by 110 pairs from PEM’s collection, including historic shoes that pay tribute to New England as a meaningful center for shoe manufacture and design.

“Shoes are about the personal creativity of the designer and the person who wears that shoe,” says Hartigan. “It’s a partnership between two people who likely never meet. You can make something wonderful, but if someone doesn’t respond to it, there is something incomplete about the act. Creation is about communication.”

HOURS

Tuesday-Sunday, 10 am until 5 pm,

Third Thursday of every month

10 am-9:00 pm. Closed Mondays

(except holidays).

DIRECTIONS:

The museum is located at 161 Essex St. in historic Salem, Massachusetts (corner of Essex and New Liberty Streets). For recorded directions, call 978-745-9500, ext. 4145.

 

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