Shoe Shopping at Scope Art Fair

While trolling through Scope Miami yesterday an unusual piece of wearable art stopped my daughter Bethany dead in her tracks. Brooklyn's Helene Dumenil Gallery was exhibiting a pair of boots made out of horses hooves created by Berlin's Iris Shieferstein.

"What size are they," Bethany inquired about the $6,000 kicks. "8 and a half," responded Dumenil. Elated that they were her size, Bethany quickly stepped out of her heels to try them on. After squeezing into the boots, she clomped around Dumenil's booth in cloven hooves as I looked nervously on.

"They have only been worn twice before by a naked performer in Berlin," Dumenil informed. "With boots like these I guess you don't need to wear anything else," Bethany laughed.



Nearby at Hamburg's heliumcowboy art space, Jorg Heikhaus was exhibiting some nifty pieces by Boris Hoppek and Nina Braun.

Braun creates phantasmagoric woven and knitted pieces that look like something Wednesday Addams might have concocted in an arts and crafts class. Braun's "The Darkest Night," a gorgeous tarantula-black rosette bedecked with coffins, skulls and bones, is as difficult to peel the peepers off as a train wreck.

If you can't afford one of Hoppek's playful sexually suggestive drawings, ask Heikhaus for a copy of the artist's LAVAGINA magazine, its only $5. It features lovely nude tattooed minxes with their genitals delicately covered with faux fur vagina plush toys.

Basel's Licht Feld space had some interesting video sculpture pieces including "Turkish Bath" in which a fetching brunette wiggles around in her scanties in a spit of a pool.

Scope arguably had some of the most compelling work on display of the many Wynwood fairs and was busy on Thursday even though sales were slow.

"Sales are off. This is nothing like last year. But at least we are getting good people to come and hoping the will return during the weekend to buy," New York's Priska C. Juschka said.

Sunday from noon to 6:00 PM Scope (2951 NE 1st, Avenue) will be adding some down home flavor to the Basel festivities with a roast pork barbecue and plenty of brews on the cheap. There will also be live music and a bounce house installation by Miami's Friends With You.

-- Carlos Suarez De Jesus