Putting yourself in the picture – Shoe Boxes

I decided to explore my idea of little shoe boxes as a display for assessment. I’m quite pleased with the results, they highlight consumption as well as stereotypes and read a little like a dating ad.. a lot can be gleaned by looking at my shoes.

Inside is my image of the shoes, on the lid it read ‘If the shoes fits’. The shoes are labelled with their purpose and underneath it is described like a lonely hearts ad.
If we were to interchange the lids would we perceive them differently? Or of the lids were loose could we find their ‘matching pair’?

 

Putting yourself in the picture rework

I did not attempt to change very much from my original submission however I have tried to get the whites of the backgrounds more consistent. To do this I re-shot the images, still using a light box, however I moved it into a darkened room so that the changing  natural light did not become an additional factor. I also tried them against a black backdrop but I felt that the detail was lost in these images. (The Ugg boots below stood out the most but I didn’t like the overall result)

I focused more on the research behind shoes and ‘personality’ as can be seen in my research folder. I also changed the labels so that rather than describe the shoes purpose they read more like a dating ad, listing personality traits which make up a person’s identity.

The only area I have yet to explore is the presentation. I had hoped to create some small shoe boxes where the lids (Complete with shoe photos) could be swapped around with the personality traits on the boxes. Or even creating a lonely hearts page compete with ‘shoe’ bios.

I also wanted to look at what happens if we wear a pair of shoes out of our comfort zone. I was particularly interested in the shoe brand ‘Irregular Choice’ , who buys and wears these? Would I be viewed differently if I wore these to work? Why?

Had they been a little cheaper I might have experimented but alas many of these shoes are over £100, a big commitment to your personal sense of style. I might see if I can ‘craft’ something similar from an old pair of shoes and try them out!

Reworked Submission

Fashion has become a popular medium for expressing identity and a sense of ‘self’. Research suggests that shoes play the most important role of sending signals to represent ourselves. Shoes can be stereotypical but we read a lot about someone in just one glance at the shoes on their feet. A simple experiment would be to look down at the street at people’s shoes, make a judgement based on their footwear,them look up… would you be right?

Women tend to own more shoes than men, would this be a ‘Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus’ Moment? Is it because Woman can be more complex so therefore need more shoes to express themselves? Perhaps it is the romanticism of holding on to memories…studies suggest that we keep shoes to maintain the memories that they contain.

So what do my shoes signify? If I attend a meeting I always when my highest heels so therefore I am signifying power and dominance, especially as I work in a male dominated environment.  Otherwise my shoes are chosen for practicality, I make sensible footwear choices and do not stand out from the crowd. I like to blend in and feel invisible, I don’t own a single pair of red shoes or in fact any really extrovert or colourful shoes. The most ‘wild’ I get is my glittery sandals or shiny date night shoes!

Overall I guess I am safe and practical, dependable and homely but I have a powerful dominate streak… fairly accurate I think.

Individual Images:

Assignment 3 – Rework

Following on from assignment 3 and my tutors feedback I am commencing on a reading marathon , or at least a dip in and dip out, before a rework. I have also downloaded a numbers of books to my kindle which might aid me such as ‘Identity and Capitalism’, ‘The conquest of cool’ , ‘Image, Identity and John Wesley’, ‘Says Who?’, ‘Identities’, ‘Representing Ageing Images and Identities’.

I also might experiment photographing the shoes against black cloth rather than the white box as I struggle to get the whites consistent. And I also want to explore presenting the images as shoes boxes.