Slippers 1845 - 1865

Editor: We are looking at "Slippers", a photograph dating from 1845-1865 currently held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. What immediately strikes me is how intimate a subject this is, and yet it feels strangely formal. What do you see here, beyond just a pair of shoes? Curator: Well, first off, aren't they delightfully humble? I imagine these were everyday slippers, pulled on for comfort, scuffing around a parlor or dressing room. To elevate them to art – and through the then-newfangled medium of photography, no less – well, that’s a wink and a nudge to the established order, isn't it? Do you find a certain dignity in that simplicity? Editor: I do. There's something timeless about it, even though it's clearly rooted in a specific time. It makes me wonder about the person who wore them. Curator: Precisely! That's where the story begins, don't you think? These slippers are traces, almost spectral. They are so plainly real, these mundane objects, that they give the impression of someone who stood, waiting to take flight! Someone ordinary doing unextraordinary things, someone of such humble grace that you almost imagine a soul inside the shoes… Editor: So, it's not just a photograph *of* slippers, but *about* life. Curator: Exactly! Photography's remarkable skill for stopping time makes you ponder, imagine yourself in these shoes; they invite introspection. A touch of whimsy that invites us to pause and reflect, wouldn't you say? Editor: Absolutely, I’ll never look at a pair of shoes the same way again. Thank you! Curator: My pleasure. Maybe, when next we meet, we can wander deeper in.