Anni Rapinoja’s International Shoes (2007).Courtesy of the artist
Artist Anni Ranoja’s Grass Slipper
Anni Rapinoja’s International Shoes are crafted out of red whortleberry, a spongy green shrub that, when not stripped for the sake of fashion, shrouds a red berry said to have medicinal benefits, like enhancing night vision and lowering blood pressure. Knowing, as we do, that shoes are a girl’s best friend, could this salubrious pump, seemingly crafted by wood sprites, have pumped a few lifesaving beats into the fatally broken heart of Liv Tyler’s Arwen Undomiel? The hippie-chic stiletto is in all its unworn glory at P.S. 1 through September 15 as part of group show of contemporary Finnish Art. —Emma Pearse