Mental Shoes 004

f o o t w e a r a n d t h e l i f e o f m i n d
m e n t a l s h o e s
013
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Inside, we’re all like
little scary bunnies.
Marina Brekova
NATHAN POWERS
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Mental Shoes. Footwear and the life of mind. Edition 013. May 2010.
Contents
1 COVER: Yves Lecoq, Le petit lapin fait du ski
2 Quote
3 Contents
4 Message
5 YVES LECOQ: I hope you shall have a good night
19 LINNEA STRID: Paintings
27 D H DOWLING: Batman’s personal demons
36 JENNA LUSTFORSHOES: Interview
42 S G COLLINS: Things that fit on my scanner
60 Captures
61 WIKIPEDIA on “Kiss”
62 Amstergasm
66 Ads
70 Colofon
Other issues of Mental Shoes
Mental Shoes is a production of Postwar Media, Amsterdam. Its content is Copyright © 2010
by its respective authors. All rights reserved. Contact us at editor@mentalshoes.com.
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We are one year
old. And all of
you look like
giants.
D H Dowling
Issue 013 marks the first anniversary of Mental Shoes.
Things evolved and some more people started to notice.
But our brief hasn’t changed from the original. We are
still “in search of thoughtful, provocative, original content.
Dreams that stung you. Days that changed you. Places that
stole you. Moments that kicked you. Shoes that loved you.
People who ignited you. And the words and images you
made to describe them.”
If you know an artist who should be exhibiting here, or
a writer with some amazing words to spare, or someone
whose story should be told, please shove them our way.
Contributors to this magazine retain the copyright to their
work, and can use it freely later. By contributing, they
warrant that they have the right to publish the work they
send us. And they understand that none of us gets paid for
this, we’re only doing it cuz we think we’re so cool.
And thanks for being here, I appreciate it. — S G Collins.
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ANNA PYTLOWANY

I’m a poor old French photographer .
I was born and it is my parents’ fault ,
I’m living and it’s my fault .
I hope you shall have a good night .
Lecoq
Yves
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Yves Lecoq. Where are we going?
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Yves Lecoq. Learning to fly with Daddy.
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Yves Lecoq. Mad Bunny and the doctors.
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Yves Lecoq. Another big experience.
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Yves Lecoq. The traveller.
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Yves Lecoq. Oscar has a new car.
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Yves Lecoq. The big revelation.
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Yves Lecoq. Some news from the NASA.
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Yves Lecoq. Oscar plays music.
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Yves Lecoq. Asleep 2, Mont Saint-Michel.
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Yves Lecoq. Gaïa.
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Yves Lecoq. I’m not exactly what I want to be.
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Yves Lecoq. Did you have a good night?
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I like to focus on the small things hiding
in the big picture. Millions of sensations
and moments, seemingly unsignificant,
pass by every day. I want to capture them
and make them my own, because no
matter how real they seem, maybe they
are just fragments of my imagination?
Strid
Linnea
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Linnea Strid. Frozen moment.
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Linnea Strid. Hydrophobia.
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Linnea Strid. Generation trash.
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Linnea Strid. Cry you a river.
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Linnea Strid. Your ears will open your eyes.
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Linnea Strid. Kill all the bad guys.
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Linnea Strid. The drowning artist.
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A
distorted
man dies
just like
any other
man.
D H DOWLING
BATMAN’S PERSONAL DEMONS
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D H Dowling. Batman wants to be alone.
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D H Dowling. Batman’s prognosis.
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D H Dowling. Batman takes leave of his senses.
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D H Dowling. Looking batward.
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D H Dowling. Batman’s Achilles’ heel.
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D H Dowling. Batman’s psychotic break.
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D H Dowling. Batman slits a wrist.
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D H Dowling. Batman’s autopsy.
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So I’m staring at a pair of stilettos built of thin
handmade white paper, in Jenna’s review of
an art exhibit by Susan Cutts. The shoes look
too fragile to touch, let alone wear — and
there are hundreds of them in the exhibit. I
contemplate what obsession means.
Searching for something else, I’ve fallen
sideways into Jenna’s web site, www.
lustforshoes.com. ‘When your desire for shoes
has gone way past fetish’, the tagline heralds.
Jenna lives in Portland, Oregon now. Back
when she was in London, she studied shoe
design at what was then Cordwainers College.
She never turned that passion into a career
— she has spent much of ‘real life’ as a police
dispatcher, 911 operator, crisis counselor.
But she remains an indefatiguable footwear
connoisseur and commentator.
Her site is devoted to bringing more visibility
to lesser-known innovative shoe designers.
Given the depth and breadth of the endeavor,
I’m a little shocked to learn that she just
started publishing in November 2009.
an interview with
Jenna Lustforshoes
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Collins: Why do you figure we have shoes at all, instead of just tougher hairer feet?
Jenna: I am trying not to be transfixed by the idea of everyone with hobbit feet.
Perhaps another evolutionary avenue would have led us in that direction, but I am
thankful for the soft and hairless route we took instead. Surely shoes have taken us
along this route? Without shoes our feet would be tougher. Our feet are tender
because we have shoes.
Collins: Then how do shoes get to be such an extreme object of desire? Do shoes
just naturally evolve from survival tool to status symbol to mad craving? If so, then
why didn’t the same thing happen to hats?
Jenna: I know there are people who have turned hats into erotic objects, but you’re
right — they don’t have nearly the same power as shoes. Writers like Elizabeth
Semmelhack and Jonathan Walford have analyzed shoes as objects of desire,
and I can’t begin to compete with their eloquence, so I’ll just give you my own
experience.
Putting on a pair of heels changes how your entire body feels and moves, and
the higher the heel the greater the change. When wearing high heels you are
restricted, sensitized, elongated. When I had finally practiced walking in heels
enough so that I could walk comfortably, I felt amazing — like I had mile long legs
and Sophia Loren’s hip sway. You become very aware of your butt and the area
between your upper thighs — and this can definitely be conveyed to an observer.
In light of that, it seems inevitable that shoes would become objects of desire. I
would say this to both men and women who want to understand the attraction of
heels: try on a pair of heels and walk around a bit — I’m not saying you’ll feel like
Marilyn Monroe, but you will understand more about what high heels do to your
body and why they exert such erotic power. And why putting on a hat isn’t even in
the same ballpark.
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Collins: Maybe I’m just groping for some kind of ‘creation myth’ to explain why
humanity came to treat footwear as expression, as something more than practical
necessity.
Jenna: Depictions of footwear from ancient cultures tell us that some shoes were
more intricate than they needed to be, and certainly went beyond simply protecting
the foot. The ancient Greeks definitely eroticized footwear (among many other
things) and prostitutes of the time often wore platform heels to attract customers.
More than two thousand years later and we are still putting on shoes to entice.
Collins: Check out this photo on your ‘About’ page, with the two greenish neogothic
shapes swimming in blooms. They are, to ordinary pumps, as Chartres cathedral is
to a Costco warehouse. Both buildings contain a volume. One is about worship,
glory, spectacle. It’s hard for me to fathom why people built the cathedral, but I
end up being kinda glad they did.
Jenna: I like the analogy of the Vivier shoes to Chartres cathedral, both certainly
inspire worship. And I do think that a beautiful handcrafted shoe should be
admired.
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Designing and creating a shoe is not an easy process. It has to support the body,
allow for the complex movements of the foot and ankle, and stand up to the
elements, as well as the constant physical stress it endures. Successfully creating
such a object is complicated enough; but to also make that object beautiful involves
both engineering and artistic talent. It is too easy to overlook the vision and skill it
takes to create a good shoe.
Collins: It seems to me that you want to champion the more audacious designers,
who are under-represented in the fashion space, am I right?
Jenna: One of the main reasons I set up the website was to introduce independent
footwear designers to a wider audience. It is incredibly difficult to get a foothold
in the fashion world as a new designer, and the problems are multiplied for shoe
designers due to the complexities of footwear production. I would love to be able
to encourage shoe lovers to seek out independent shoe designers and retailers, and
I am hoping the website will do that.
Most of the shoes that exist in this world are very ordinary. In every field there
are those who are content to provide just what we all need; but there are also the
visionaries who want to push the boundaries as far as possible.
I do tend to like designs that are contentious, the ones that get as much criticism as
praise. I may not want to wear those designs myself, but I am drawn to those that
shake up the status quo; I think provocative designs are necessary to keep fashion
moving forward.
Collins: What can you tell me about the obstacles shoe designers face?
Jenna: The biggest challenge is getting the range of shoes manufactured. It’s so
much more complicated than clothing. A clothes designer with a good sewing
machine can theoretically make a range of clothing him/herself; if they run out of a
particular size they can just sew a couple more. It takes skill, but it is do-able.
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I would prefer
that my favorite
pair of 5 inch heels
were comfortable.
They aren’t,
but I wear them
anyway.
You can make a pair of shoes by hand, but it
requires an extensive array of materials and
a lot of equipment. For almost everyone,
the equipment is prohibitively expensive, so
the shoes need to be made by a footwear
manufacturer — which are not as common
as you might think, considering that virtually
everyone on this planet wears shoes. Chances
are a shoe designer will have to leave their
own country to find a skilled footwear
production facility, may have to source their
materials from yet another country, and may
have to agree to a minimum order of shoes
that is far beyond what they think they will sell
in a year. It’s scary and complicated and not
for the faint of heart. Sometimes I wonder
how any new shoe designers manage to get
started.
Collins: Who are some of the most amazing
unsung shoe designers, in your eyes?
Jenna: I am a very enthusiastic fan of both
Dutch and English shoe designers; both
countries seem to produce a disproportionate
number of exciting footwear designers. In
the Dutch camp, Hester Vlamings creates
some very special designs, beautifully
conceived and crafted. My interest in Rene
van den Berg’s designs has rapidly become
obsessive — they are like shoes from another
dimension! Georgina Goodman, an English
designer, is another of my favorites, as is the
Canadian John Fluevog and the French label
Larare. I could go on and on, because there
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are hundreds of designers I would like to mention, but I will leave it at that. I will
say that since I choose all the designers I write about in Lust for Shoes, I can pick
the ones I most like. I would find it impossible to write about designs I didn’t care
for.
Collins: I’m always a little baffled by the masochism in women’s footwear. The
requirement of suffering, self-torture, sacrifice for beauty’s sake. So many women
seem sure that any shoe that doesn’t hurt soon, must be an unworthy shoe. To me
there’s something oddly ‘religious’ in that as well. Am I crazy?
Jenna: I don’t think women actually want shoes to hurt, but there is a stigma
attached to the term ‘comfortable footwear’. When I hear that term, I tend to
imagine an awful beige low-heeled pump with zero sex appeal. I realize that is
unfair, but it is a knee jerk reaction that I believe I share with a lot of other women.
Some women — myself included — are willing to endure a level of discomfort from
footwear that we would not tolerate from any other item of clothing. I would prefer
that my favorite pair of 5 inch heels were comfortable. They aren’t, but I wear them
anyway.
Sacrifice for beauty’s sake? Absolutely. A religious experience? Possibly, but only
if you see the cult of beauty as a religion.
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things that fit
s g collins
on my scanner
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855
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3 pink orchids
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Cheese
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Female staff wanded
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Ball Park
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Montecristo Habana
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Poko
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Cuke skin
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An explanation of Bulgarian kings
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Little red pills
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Final assembly
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Japorama
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Magnetron hot dog
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Old flowers
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Provocation 36
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Nepali banknote
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I bet you say that to all the girls
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CAPTURES
What the hell is wrong with people these days? Everyone’s either on one
extreme or the other. What ever happened to middle ground?
Kristin Dedeaux
Ijsland zou verboden moeten worden! Bjørk sucks al. Ze hebben waarschijnlijk
een bom onder die vulkaan gelegd.
[Iceland should be outlawed. Bjørk sucks already. They probably set off a bomb
under that volcano.]
Monique Fitzpatrick-Schillemans
Now, how many would push the fat man over the bridge?
Michael Sandel
If I did CPR on you now, I’d probably give you my cold.
Michele de Saint Sauveur
Our best boomerang is a different kind of selfish.
Marina Brekova
Went to purgatory earlier, it was fun.
Kristi Lee Hillard McInnis
Are you sure? Allowing instant personalization will give you a richer experience
as you browse the web. If you opt out, you will have to manually activate these
experiences.
Facebook
You can’t trick yourself into stability and mowing the lawn.
Nicole Leist
Life is possible even with low-fat quark.
Kees Huyser
I do not have much patience with a thing of beauty that must be explained to be
understood.
Charlie Chaplin
Fuck, I love that volcano!
Djordje Simic
Enjoy the silence.
Cathelijne Brokx
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Kissing is a complex behavior
that requires significant
muscular coordination; a total
of thirty-four facial muscles and
112 postural muscles are used
during a kiss.
— Wikipedia on “Kiss”
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BILLY FISHCOOL

amstergasm
ANNA PYTLOWANY
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It was the time of year for birdsong to begin at five in the morn-
ing. The air was cool, but a long stretch of sunshine dispelled our
mist. The trees in the street abruptly flowered that week, and by
Thursday a million tiny white petals were swirling in the breeze.
That evening the sky was kinda rosy-purply. And there were no
more airplanes in the sky.
We were told the ash from a volcano in Iceland was haunting the
skies of Europe, and air traffic was unsafe. Everything was ground-
ed. People everywhere were stranded in mid-journey. The train
stations were thronged with desperate alternative-seekers. Airlines
were losing a couple hundred million in revenue per day.
When we looked out from the balcony in the morning, our sky
showed no sign of ashes. It was clear. And quiet. That everpresent
far whooshing that we all learn to ignore was very conspicuously
gone, and with it the pale streaks that normally thatch our heav-
enly firmament. It might have been our imaginations, but somehow
things looked brighter, and felt calmer. And at night, we could swear
the stars were closer.
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The last time I’d experienced this weird silence was in the after-
math of the 2001 attacks in America. Back then there was some-
thing funereal about it, a shroud of confusion disguised as sunlight.
This time — except for those hapless travellers — I have to say the
grounding seemed almost cheerful. We looked at each other think-
ing, hmm, aviation just stopped and the world didn’t end. Maybe we
can even stay on the ground if we want. For a while.
I was reminded of how preposterous heavier-than-air flight is
anyway. How ridiculous seems our dependence on stuffing our-
selves with nameless hundreds into thin metal tubes and hurtling
ourselves where we really don’t belong. Hardly a century after the
Wright Brothers, we’d come to see this unpleasantness as perfectly
routine and absolutely necessary. But now here we were, actually
enjoying the post-air-travel era.
After three days aviation rose from the dead. Just after eight on
Monday evening, Garcia and I looked out and saw one jet rising cau-
tiously to the southwest. Life would soon recapture its usual haze
and whistling.
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edi
tor@
men
talsh
HEY YOU.
oes.
com
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Cella Gallery
5229 Lankershim Boulevard
North Hollywood, CA USA
tel 213 291 7908
www.cellagallery.com
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
Cella Gallery is a contemporary fine art gallery located in the NoHo
Arts District, committed to nurturing the local creative community and
developing the careers of their artists through special events: music
nights, artist salons, and new exhibits approximately every six weeks.
The gallery is involved with the NoHo Arts Network, a non-profit
organization dedicated to the creation and promotion of all forms of
art within the district. Cella created the Emerging Arts Project, which
helps emerging artists by providing exhibition space and mounting
professional shows that are promoted and publicized by the NoHo Arts
Network. We focus on large installation projects that would have little
hope of finding a home within a commercial gallery space.
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T
R E S T A U R A N T D E N A C H T W A C H T
Just Amsterdam’s finest steakhouse, period.
Thorbeckeplein 2, 1017 CS Amsterdam NL tel +31 20 622 4794
www.de-nachtwacht.nl
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T
Essiac tea is a powdered blend of eight special herbs,
originally passed down from the Ojibwa people in
Canada. Today many people are convinced of its strong
healing and cleansing properties. That’s why some companies
sell it for grossly inflated prices.
Affordable-essiac-tea.com is on a mission to provide the
remedy in its purest form at the most reasonable prices. Ships
within USA and internationally.
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Contributors
Yves Lecoq (www.flickr.com/photos/yveslecoq/) is ‘a poor French photographer’
who wears a size 44 shoe.
Linnea Strid (www.linneastrid.se) started painting as a teenager living in Fuengirola,
Spain. She has exhibited in Spain, Sweden, LA and Chicago. She now lives and
works in Uppsala, Sweden. Her shoe size is 37.
D H Dowling is an editor of Mental Shoes. He came from Massachusetts, worked as
a writer, director and photographer in Hollywood for a dog’s age, then moved back
east with the implicit aim of removing his head from his ass. He is now a happily
married radical individualist living in New Haven, working on his novel. His shoe size
is (US) 10.5 D.
Jenna Bazner creates www.lustforshoes.com, a web site devoted to showcasing
independent footwear designers. She lives in Portland, Oregon and wears shoe size
40 (9.5 US).
S G Collins is a writer/filmmaker originally from Boston, in Amsterdam since 2003,
shoe size 45. He is the author of Notes of a fool: a manual for courteous sedition, and
How not to get hit by a bike, and other stuff they forgot to tell you about Amsterdam.
Anna Pytlowany is a linguist, researcher, translator, photojournalist and smalltime
filmmaker from Sanok, Poland. She now lives in Tokyo, and wears a size 38 shoe.
Billy Fishcool is an actress, singer and photographer from Manchester UK, now liv-
ing in Brussels. Shoe size 39.
Mental Shoes is hosted by our dear friend Jaap at We Serve You (wsy.nl). Hartelijk
bedankt.
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You will have to
manually activate
these experiences.
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