The Torch

Issue date: 5/29/08 Section: Arts

Media Credit: Jeremy Blanchard Steve Prefontaine's winning trainers are one of the pairs included in the museum's exhibit, in anticipation of the upcoming Olympic Trials at Hayward Field.

Media Credit: Isaac Viel "Walk a Mile in These Shoes" features 200 pairs of footwear that mark a place in time. The exhibit will be at the University of Oregon's Museum of Natural and Cultural History through Aug. 24.

Footwear can tie people together and tell poignant stories, from the wear and tear on combat boots to the unnaturally tiny size of ancient Chinese slippers. The University of Oregon's Museum of Natural and Cultural History features 200 important pairs in its exhibit, "Walk a Mile in These Shoes," running until Aug. 24.
"You can learn the stories behind the shoes, why they were made and why they're used," Judi Pruitt, administrative program assistant at the museum, says. "Shoes are things that we use every day, like our hands, and we don't appreciate them until we can learn more about them."
Opening just in time for the Olympic Trials across the street at Hayward Field, "Walk a Mile" is the temporary home of several famous pairs of shoes on loan from the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame.
Eugene is not just "track town," it's also Nike town, and the relationship between Oregon's track stars and their designer shoes is featured prominently in the display.
Bill Bowerman's original waffle irons for shoe soles sit alongside Steve Prefontaine's winning trainers, with Prefontaine's finishing times written on the fabric in marker.
For those who are not sports fans, there are many other pairs to peruse. There are some truly outrageous boots from KISS to ogle, and silver slippers from the musical "Wicked."
Oregon's politicians loaned their kicks, along with their stories and shoe sizes. Shoes from around the world on display are often beautiful, perplexing and seemingly uncomfortable.
Footlockers around the exhibit open onto 100 years of American culture and footwear, decade by decade. The 1940's locker features stylish pumps and crocodile skin loafers alongside boots from World War II.
Pairs from Native American cultures are featured with information about the materials and techniques used to make them. Oregon is also home to the world's oldest shoes: 10,000-year-old sagebrush sandals preserved by a volcanic eruption. Twelve of these sandals are on display, and museumgoers can see that even then, different styles were used.
More than a visual curiosity, "Walk a Mile" is a learning experience. Patrons can learn shoe trivia from "footnotes" around the exhibit. Visitors can leave behind their own "shoeperstitions" dealing with rituals and trivia that world cultures associate with shoes. There are many. Why do people tie old shoes to the back of a bride and groom's car? Why do people tie their shoes together and throw them into trees and telephone lines? How did shoe measurements come to be? The exhibit answers these questions and raises a few of its own.
Visitors can vote for their views on shoes: are they for style or for function? The results look neck and neck for now.


"Walk a Mile in These Shoes"
When: Now through Aug. 24
Where: Museum of Natural and Cultural History, Agate Street and 15th Avenue.
Hours: Wednesdays through Sundays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Admission: $3 general admission, $8 for families, $2 for seniors and youth. Wednesdays are free.

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