If the Shoe Fits, Fling It
There is currently a certain vogue for shoe flinging – where the rest of the world learned exactly what it means in one place. But what does it mean to the Western World? An inquiring mind investigates.
Shoes have been in the news a lot recently – or rather the use of shoes as a form of projectile. Many have some sympathy with the brave but possibly foolhardy Muntadhar al-Zaidi who dispensed with protocol and his shoes at a Press Conference involving a certain (and surprising agile, for shame!) leader of the Western World. Some wounds will take a long time to ‘heel’.
However, while in the Middle East the tossing of a shoe is an insult of the highest magnitude, in the West the flinging of footwear is an altogether more casual pastime – at least in terms of its how and where and why it happens. So, is there a sole intention in the west or is this whole article an excuse for the author to make appalling plays on words about shoes?
Observed in many countries, shoe tossing is the act of getting a pair of shoes, laces tied, to dangle gracefully (or otherwise, aesthetics are not considered uppermost) on power lines, telephone line – in fact, any extended line which goes from one point to another.
Also known as shoefiti (get it?) this practice has made its way in to youth folklore, particularly in the US and Canada. This phenomenon has also been spotted in places far away, from Sweden to Israel and even down as far as South Africa. It is thought that the occurrence of the activity (dare it be named a sport and put up for the 2012 Olympics?) in these far flung places has spread because of their appearance in Hollywood movies such as Maid in Manhattan and Big Fish. Who can say?
Then there is the art of the shoe tree – the above, an exemplary example from California – but more about them later!
Meanwhile we can ponder – to infinity and possibly beyond – the shoefiti Hollywood connections there is an even greater question that demands an answer. Is shoefiti an art, a sport or a combination of the two? Could we possibly mix and mingle the two words and come up with a new one – could shoefiti and their cousin shoe trees possibly be classified as a ’spart’?
Wikipedia defines art as “the process or product of deliberately and creatively arranging elements in a way that appeals to the senses or emotions.” It could be argued that the proponents of shoefiti do exactly that. Possibly. Where the argument might fall down is the Wikipedia definition of sport, which insists that it is an “activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively.
Could the fact that the laces are always tied and the shoes flung in the style of bolas be construed as a set of rules? Over to you, ladies and gentlemen of the Olympic Committee. We won’t hold our breath! Certainly in New Zealand and parts of Eastern Europe shoe throwing is already a sport which has its own world championships. It took a while for synchronized swimming to be taken seriously so perhaps the ‘spart’ of shoefiti should not be dismissed out of hand!
While the reasons behind shoe trees are elusive, some people hold that shoefiti is created to indicate that someone has recently passed away. Their shoes are suspended from up on high so they may collect them on their way heavenward. Optimistic about the final destination of these souls, mourning relatives fling the shoes up and away.
A more sinister explanation is that a piece of shoefiti indicates the near locality of a crack den or is an In Memoriam for a fallen gang member. That this practice takes place in a lot of rural areas where there is something of a shortfall of gangs and crack houses leads many to suspect that there is more than a little of urban mythology going on here! Plus, would there really be a crack den near to the St Vincent de Paul Society? Hush!
To complicate things further there is a further branch of the marriage of sport and art in connection with footwear. That is the burgeoning happenstance of the shoe tree. Although they cannot be construed in any way as a farewell kiss to a certain President Bush from the American people there are over one hundred examples of this strange art form in the United States alone.
You may think you know all that needs to be known about shoe trees, in fact man of you may have one at home. However, the new shoe tree is not that neat device that you use to preserve your shoes domestically. It is a form of spontaneous art that springs up usually around busy roads. Who starts the shoe tree’s evolution is anyone’s guess but there is certainly little evidence of intelligent design in the form!
Perhaps a drunken youth or passing vagrant was the originator of the tree. We may never know. What is not in doubt, however, is that once a tree receives its christening shoes (as it were) then people from far and near develop a compulsion to discard their own shoes (one must assume unwanted and old) with a shoulder fling and a grunt and add to the work in development themselves.
The idea has even been taken by real artists to make real art.
Without a doubt, as a form of public art (formal or informal!), shoe trees have one advantage. It would take special equipment to get the shoes down from their new found lofty heights and this leads to an inclination on the part of local authorities to leave the thing alone until it has taken on a life of its own and has become a local landmark.
Whether it is locally appreciated, again, must be left to those who live there. Of course, if you can’t take the shoes to the tree, why not take the trees to the shoes?
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User Comments
Hein Marais
On December 20, 2008 at 3:03 am
Very entertaining article.
Frederick Zammit
On December 20, 2008 at 3:32 am
Interesting article
James DeVere
On December 20, 2008 at 4:22 am
RJ – you are becoming more in tune – more driven; lovin’ it. With your talent I reckon you would sweep it up on oDesk.com. Check this site – really rewards for real effort – and they need writers. Brilliant work, again . j
sue mcverry
On December 20, 2008 at 4:45 am
Oh brilliant! Excellent and topical for an article with some great photos.
Rana Sinha
On December 20, 2008 at 4:51 am
Very interesting. Maybe a certain (agile) leader of the Western world will also read this.
Christine Ramsay
On December 20, 2008 at 5:29 am
Gosh I had no idea you could create so much art work with shoes.
A great and topical article.
Christine
Glynis Smy
On December 20, 2008 at 7:09 am
Oh wow you have entertained us again with this article RJ, I love it!!
MJPatrick
On December 20, 2008 at 8:28 am
Wow,Rj’s creation really entertaining.
Juancav
On December 20, 2008 at 9:00 am
Very innovative ingenius and of course extrapolated,thank you.
Lauren Axelrod
On December 20, 2008 at 10:44 am
Fantastic piece RJ, a real original. I never really knew why people flung shoes, no I do
thestickman
On December 20, 2008 at 10:49 am
Apart from the vandalism and Kilroy of throwing a pair of shoes over an electric line, this is in the inner city, a ‘code’ that there is a ‘runner’ nearby. A ‘runner’ is someone that a drug-user seeks as a middleman to take the user’s cash and ‘run’ to the dealer and buy the drugs, and return with them. Think ‘pimp’ and you have the idea.
A pair of sneakers is what is generally used (indicating “fast service”) Its safer for the drug seller as s/he is not actually there, in person, but instead, can hide somewhere (car, warehouse, etc.) and be approached by the middleman, whom receives a small stipend for the service of ‘running.’
-thestickman
Patrick Scott
On December 20, 2008 at 11:50 am
Life imitating art is a little far fetched for this topic. Long before Maid in Manhattan (gag) and Big Fish (kudos) I watched a pair of shoes dangle from a powerline above U.s. hiway 1. For almost three years those shoes hung there as a testament to mans will and determination to accomplish the almost impossible. Those shoes were less than 200 yards from the State Patrol Barracks, in front of a church in a residential neighborhood, above the busiest road in the United States. Through heat, cold and rain they hung there as trophy to what a person can do when bored completely out of their skull.
Jeoffrey Meister
On December 20, 2008 at 12:35 pm
This is a great article; thank you.
Karen Gross
On December 20, 2008 at 4:29 pm
I wonder if this is why my kids are constantly needing new shoes?
ptitz
On December 20, 2008 at 5:22 pm
i spent some time at the hospital as a kid after a car accident. there was a tree outside the window and it was covered with shoes.
Liane Schmidt
On December 20, 2008 at 7:04 pm
haha… this is hilarious – - I love that you took the time to find all these pictures!
Blessings.
Sincerely,
-Liane Schmidt.
Unofre Pili
On December 20, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Enjoyed the article much. Shoes hanging on high wires are occasionally found also in the Philippines.Good to know it’s everywhere round the globe.
Darlene McFarlane
On December 20, 2008 at 8:51 pm
Another interesting and entertaining article, RJ. A town close to home here in Ontario has started shoe art on the phone wires. I have heard that it is custom to steal a pair of new shoes and hang them to show your bravery….(What ever happened to hunting bear?)
sheba
On December 20, 2008 at 10:54 pm
Interesting. Exactly how many shoes are in that tree? Nice work!
Patrick Bernauw
On December 21, 2008 at 3:26 am
Great idea, worked out Intensily Evansily!
Sotiris
On December 21, 2008 at 7:50 am
Nice shoe article hehe!
denguitar22
On December 21, 2008 at 8:36 am
nice article!
eddiego65
On December 21, 2008 at 9:56 am
Very entertaining piece.
Lucas Dié
On December 21, 2008 at 2:07 pm
’shoo’, said the shoe to the monkey, and it ducked
Scott Stambler
On December 21, 2008 at 2:13 pm
if the tree fits… wear it? BTW, my dog LOVED this story.
Canadian Folklore
On December 21, 2008 at 6:42 pm
In western Canada it is a well known fact that shoes hanging from above ground wires indicate the boundaries of local gangs.
Emy
On December 22, 2008 at 3:08 am
This is so great. The only shoe throwing relation I ever knew of had to do with drugs (and thats a little grim), but now I know better. Thanks. Wonderfull, and insightfull article.
Tel Asiado
On December 22, 2008 at 4:22 am
We never stop, do we? In the name of art, science, or whatever reason there is to justify. I’ve stopped wondering why, and what-next, after the millennium.
Anyway, taking aside what my otherwise hazy mind thinks, RJ, you’re terrific. I’ve spotted your stroke of brilliance in your pieces – put together. Keep going. I’ll follow through when I get the chance.
Btw, I like the last image – the plant, the shoes, and the art.
G’day!
Cateln Hoover
On December 22, 2008 at 1:17 pm
Yo, my friend – totally surprising! Love it! Especally all those photos. Brillient! It made me smile even more than I usually do! Thanks!
Evvie Sands
On December 22, 2008 at 4:30 pm
Quite interesting, didn’t know about shoe trees, but here in my country I’ve seen lot of sneakers hanging from electricity wires. The urban legend here is that the person the shoes represent or used to belong either died, got caught and went to jail or moved and left the country. In some rural areas and small towns kids who’re moving to the capital city to go to university hang their shoes, too.
I suppose that, at least in my country, it represent a rite of passage or a major change. Sadly, in the last two or three years, many fine young people have left the country for good and that accounts for most of the hanging shoes.
Jax Appleby
On December 22, 2008 at 5:25 pm
What a clever article! I love it!
Michele Cameron Drew
On December 22, 2008 at 8:43 pm
Haha! I thought this was going to be another article about Bush getting the shoe thrown at him when I saw the first paragraph. This is great RJ, thanks for sharing this.
Adam Henry Sears
On December 22, 2008 at 10:51 pm
Hi, RJ, how are you?
Funny article, I like it. Thanks for sharing.
Nice shoes!
Angel
On December 27, 2008 at 11:05 am
interesting stuff, the only thing
i knew of shoes on power lines is when ur in a drug neighborhood i use to walk out my door and see that
Lisa Clayton Williams
On January 11, 2009 at 10:02 am
Really enjoyable read!!! So funny!
Rookie Expert
On February 26, 2009 at 1:45 pm
The title is a tongue twister – try saying ‘if the shoe fits fling it’ out loud 10 times without stopping.
if the shoe fits fling it
if the shoe fits fling it
if the shoe fits fling it
if the shoe flits fing it!?!?
Shooo(e)!
Need i say we are all having fun RJ? Great entertaining article as always.
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