Jessica Sofia Mitrani is a Colombian artist and performer based in New York. She has spent years dissecting and interpreting the stereotypes of femininity, and it all started with a single shoe...
WANTED: So I have to ask, what shoes are you wearing today? And why?
JESSICA SOFIA MITRANI: Right now? Alexander McQueen, flats. In this weather I wear flats. These I love so much, they are my summer shoes.
W: Do you ever wear heels?
JSM: Yes all the time. [laughs] All the time.
W: You grew up in Colombia and have been living in New York since 1999 - what made you decide to make the move to NY? Was it for art?
JSM: Yes, I did a short film called Rita Goes To The Supermarket and at that time the lab in Colombia was having some trouble. I decided to come up for the summer to do the post-production of the film. And when I got here, I just... I knew I had to stay. I love this city, I adore New York, and there was no choice but for me to stay.
W: How did you first get involved in the art world?
JSM: When I was in Colombia I was part of a theater group, an all women's performance-theater group. I was always interested in gender and women's representation and the company dealt with those issues, I performed and wrote some sketches for them and later I did the short movie. When I came to New York I worked with the New Stage Theatre Company doing several productions and it was a great experience because I was involved in everything from the concept and script to the costumes and the set design. It was on that context that I made the first single shoe: the two-foot black patent leather platform for the performance piece Some Historic/Some Hysteric.
W: How do you actually make the shoes? Just how regular shoes are made?
JSM: I have a friend that is a shoemaker and had a factory in Colombia; it was a really nice collaboration. He tried different molds and it was a really interesting process to figure out how to make the perfect single shoe- you can see the forms over there made out of wax [points across the room]. So we made them just like they make regular shoes.
W: Who and what are you influenced by?
JSM: Hans Bellmer is a big influence of mine. I'm actually working on a book and exhibition about the time he spent with his lover, a poet named Nora Mitrani...
W: Any relation?
JSM: Yes! [laughs] So I'm interested in highlighting their scandalous affair...
W: What will be on view at your upcoming exhibition?
JSM: There will be three videos where the shoe is the protagonist : Mary Jane, Nurse, Stiletto . The complete series of shoes and their molds will be on display as well as stills from the videos. Also a baby shoe and a baby bronze shoe! There are going to be women standing in my shoes in the window display, but I prefer not to describe them yet. It is better to just see them in person...
W: Can you talk about the messages of femininity that you are sending throughout your work?
JSM: I think that more than a message my work arises questions around the aesthetics of femininity...My inspiration for the single shoes comes from the s and m culture, there is a single shoe that is used in the bedroom, and it's all about power. So I was interested in someone having a woman immobilized and actually giving the immobilized woman all the power...and then I took the shoe out of its original context and moved it to the everyday life...
(Alexander McQueen heel S/S '10)
W: Why do you think women like to wear heels?
JSM: Well, I love to wear heels because I feel powerful... they do hurt my feet, and are terrible for my knees but I feel, like lots of women, that they make you look desirable...
W: At the opening of your exhibition there will be a woman wearing an outfit by ThreeAsFour, who you also worked with for their A/W 2009 presentation at Greene Naftalie Gallery in NY... Can you talk about those collaborations?
JSM: I made a little dreamy film out of their performance called "She tends a Bonsai in her crystal dream" which will be projected in a giant mirrored couture screen at the Macro Museum in Rome this upcoming September... I was interested in creating a mood, more so than documenting the actual clothing so the film is more about the atmosphere, music and the spirit of the performance. For my single shoe exhibition they designed an original black super sexy outfit for the woman standing in the two-feet platform!
W: You have been studying feminine representation for the past ten years. Would you describe yourself as a feminist?
JSM: Yes, definitely, for sure. I always say I am a feminist, not to be a misogynist.
W: Why did you name one shoe Vivienne Westwood, while the other shoes are not named after a designer?
JSM: I named the shoes according to their type, like the Mary Jane, the marabou mule, sling back...I named the two-toned ballerina, Chanel because it was originally made for that house and it is usually called like that even if it is not a real Chanel. In the Westwood case I made an exact replica of one of her famous shoes.
I admire the parody and humor in her designs. It's both subversive and elegant. It is anti-bourgeois but consumed by the customer she makes fun of. I just find that she embodies aesthetically a lot of what I personally like in fashion. I like how for her fashion is a parody and it is a parody that I love to wear.
W: What other fashion designers do you admire and like to wear?
JSM: I admire Comme des Garcons... a lot... Alexander McQueen too... I like the idea of not taking fashion or anything too seriously, and keeping a distance. They do smart fashion, its fashion that comments on fashion - but it takes it to another level, and it's gorgeous to wear. I love the intellectual aspect, but I love the way it looks as well.
I wear ThreeAsFour all the time and Tsumori Chisato. She used to work with Issey Miyake for a long time...it is a bit more whimsical than what I would normally wear but I think her prints are amazing and I like her sense of humor. The sense of humor of the designer is what I like best.
Written by Carolyn Brennan
JSM: Well, I love to wear heels because I feel powerful... they do hurt my feet, and are terrible for my knees but I feel, like lots of women, that they make you look desirable...
W: At the opening of your exhibition there will be a woman wearing an outfit by ThreeAsFour, who you also worked with for their A/W 2009 presentation at Greene Naftalie Gallery in NY... Can you talk about those collaborations?
JSM: I made a little dreamy film out of their performance called "She tends a Bonsai in her crystal dream" which will be projected in a giant mirrored couture screen at the Macro Museum in Rome this upcoming September... I was interested in creating a mood, more so than documenting the actual clothing so the film is more about the atmosphere, music and the spirit of the performance. For my single shoe exhibition they designed an original black super sexy outfit for the woman standing in the two-feet platform!
W: You have been studying feminine representation for the past ten years. Would you describe yourself as a feminist?
JSM: Yes, definitely, for sure. I always say I am a feminist, not to be a misogynist.
W: Why did you name one shoe Vivienne Westwood, while the other shoes are not named after a designer?
JSM: I named the shoes according to their type, like the Mary Jane, the marabou mule, sling back...I named the two-toned ballerina, Chanel because it was originally made for that house and it is usually called like that even if it is not a real Chanel. In the Westwood case I made an exact replica of one of her famous shoes.
I admire the parody and humor in her designs. It's both subversive and elegant. It is anti-bourgeois but consumed by the customer she makes fun of. I just find that she embodies aesthetically a lot of what I personally like in fashion. I like how for her fashion is a parody and it is a parody that I love to wear.
W: What other fashion designers do you admire and like to wear?
JSM: I admire Comme des Garcons... a lot... Alexander McQueen too... I like the idea of not taking fashion or anything too seriously, and keeping a distance. They do smart fashion, its fashion that comments on fashion - but it takes it to another level, and it's gorgeous to wear. I love the intellectual aspect, but I love the way it looks as well.
I wear ThreeAsFour all the time and Tsumori Chisato. She used to work with Issey Miyake for a long time...it is a bit more whimsical than what I would normally wear but I think her prints are amazing and I like her sense of humor. The sense of humor of the designer is what I like best.
Jessica Mitrani: In a Single Shoe opens September 12th at Partners & Spade, 40 Great Jones Street, NY. (646) 861-2827
Written by Carolyn Brennan
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