Sole Witness: New Exhibit Tells the Story of Sneakers
On Friday, The Brooklyn Museum opens the doors on an exhibit titled ”Out of the Box: The Rise of Sneaker Culture.” It’s billed as the first museum show of its kind, surveying the history and social meaning of rubber-soled shoes.
Anyone who remembers the 80’s probably knows that Run-DMC rocked Adidas. But did you know that tennis shoes with vulcanized rubber treads, were considered luxury goods when they appeared in the early 20th century?
“They were about upper class expressions of status because they were the classes that could actually play,” said Elizabeth Semmelhack, curator of the show. “And so early sneakers were very much about status and expressing status.”
The show originated at the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, and Semmelhack said it’s been rewarding to see “sneakerheads” – men and women who love kicks – drawn into museum halls.
“Sneakerheads are already historians," she said. "They are interested in the nuances of this history, they suck the information dry, they spend time with the artifacts. They read every label.”
Myles Linton, 17, of Brooklyn, attended the preview, and stood for a long time looking at a case of recent-vintage Jordans.
"A lot of people might sit here and say, 'Wow you can just look at sneakers for however much time?'" said Linton, "But people wear it every day. It’s gone through so much changes. And despite what anyone says, it’s been a huge part of culture. So it’s great that it’s being recognized, you know?"
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