The Couple 1956

Meret Oppenheim’s “The Couple” presents us with two brown heeled boots, faced toe to toe, and tied together with laces. They almost look like they're about to have a little chat. Look at that smooth leather, and the way the laces casually dangle. What kind of a relationship do these boots suggest? Is it a playful dance, a confrontation, or maybe just a quiet moment of reflection? Oppenheim knew the power of objects to unlock hidden desires and associations. I’m reminded of Marcel Duchamp, who challenged our perception of art by presenting everyday objects as readymades. Oppenheim, like Duchamp, invites us to see the world with new eyes, to find poetry and humor in the most unexpected places. The surrealists really knew how to have fun, didn’t they? Anyway, here's to not taking ourselves too seriously, and to finding the extraordinary in the ordinary.