HEAD OVER HEELS Put your lust foot forward Photo : Jacques Lessard Who Pumps to impassion, mules to mesmerize, boots to beguile, sandals to stimulate… Practical or whimsical, traditional or avant-garde, comfortable or unbearable, shoes have surprising powers of seduction. Head Over Heels, presented at the Musée de la civilisation until September 9, 2002, takes us into this unimagined world, one where men’s and women’s footwear alike are intricately linked to the game of titillation. Head Over Heels is presented by CHAUSSURES REGENCE, the Quebec-based manufacturer of Collège, Maple Leaf, and Blondo footwear. Head Over Heels is a far cry from a mere shoe department display! Equipped with audio guides, visitors can browse this whimsical exhibition with none other than Cinderella’s fairy godmother. Wasn’t she the one who gave Cinderella the ultimate means of seducing the prince? Her huge shoe closet is her arsenal of battle—for victory in love goes to those who put their best foot forward. Through the 13 parts of the exhibition, she teaches Cinderella everything she needs to know about the types of shoes associated with each play in the game of seduction—fantasy, lust, sensuality, eroticism, machismo, fetishism, and elegance. Even the prince gets a few suggestions! Photo : Jacques Lessard Thanks to the clever and imaginative writings of well-known playwright and director Michel Marc Bouchard, visitors will see the world of shoes in an exceptional light. Exchanges between the fairy godmother and the other characters of the famous fairytale are lively, contemporary, and sprinkled with humor. The performers are Dorothy Berryman (fairy godmother), Évelyne Rompré (Cinderella), Sébastien Delorme (prince), Harry Standjofski (master of ceremonies), Julie Borrough and Marie Turgeon (stepsisters), and Anne-Marie Cadieux (stepmother and cashier). In the English version, Elizabeth Robertson plays Cinderella and Martin Watier plays the prince. The other roles are played by the same performers. Seduction and poetry The atmosphere of Head Over Heels is one of quiet mystery. The fairy godmother’s chests, full of the most beautiful samples from her collection, fill the room as far as the eye can see. Four empty chests frame filmed choreographic contributions by choreographer Sylvain Émard and director Raymond St-Jean, adding a note of poetry to the exhibition. Four more trunks are inhabited by installations by visual artist Claudie Gagnon. The four choreographies by Sylvain Émard are all displays of footwork: The Ashes that Hide Desire, The Twelfth Stroke of Midnight, His Search, and They Lived Happily Ever After. The work by Claudie Gagnon gives the impression of a book of living pictures, especially the image of real mice running in their cage to operate three sewing machines that make Cinderella’s dress. The scenography is the work of Richard Lacroix. Photo : Jacques Lessard The approach—entertaining, yet full of feeling and emotion thanks to the creative license the show’s designers have taken—makes for a lively and original presentation. The result mirrors the philosophy of originality and ceaseless vitality that the Musée de la civilisation is known for locally, nationally, and internationally. An exceptional collection Head Over Heels provides a unique opportunity for visitors to admire close to 300 shoes (both singles and pairs) from the biggest museums and collections of this type in the world. The following institutions provided exceptional support for the project and contributed more than half of the objects presented: The Bata Shoe Museum (Toronto) and the Musée International de la Chaussure (Romans, France). Other institutions associated with the exposition are The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), the Galliera Museum (Paris), the Salvatore Ferragamo Museum (Florence), the McCord Museum of Canadian History (Montreal), and The Museum of London (England). Photo : Jacques Lessard For the sake of refinement, quality, and conservation, the emphasis is on the great shoemakers and great names in shoe design. On display are a Roman sandal, Venetian chopines dating from 1580, mules, pumps from the 17th and 18th centuries alongside Roger Vivier crocodile boots, Andrea Pfister bowed boots, Vivienne Westwood platform pumps, and shoe “works of art” in extravagant shapes, such as the three sculptures by Alfred Pellan. Also on display are a pair of Elvis Presley’s loafers, Marilyn Monroe’s sandals, Robert Redford’s boots, Céline Dion’s pumps, Princess Diana’s high-heels, and a number of creations by famous Hollywood shoemaker Salvatore Ferragamo. An alluring booklet for an alluring exhibition A booklet accompanies the Head Over Heels exhibition. Author Valérie Laforge uses shoes, many of which appear in the exhibition, to reveal in detail the importance of appearance in male and female games of seduction. She also includes a whole chapter on the top six shoe designers in the world. The 128 page work is part of the Images de société collection, co-published by the Musée de la civilisation and Éditions Fides. All shoe lovers are sure to want a copy of this fabulous work, available at the museum Boutique for $19.95. Head Over Heels is everything you’ve always wanted to know about shoes but were afraid to ask. An alluring and surprising exhibition with a twist of humor, on display from November 7, 2001, to September 9, 2002, at the Musée de la civilisation. Informations: Agnès Dufour, [418] 643-2158 Relations publiques et communications Issued : November 6, 2001

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