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Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/641736
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JAY ZUKERKORN (HEEL); FLAT DESIGN (BACKGROUND) THE CURRIER MUSEUM OF ART STEPS IT UP BY SPOTLIGHTING THE STILETTO. BY JARED BOWEN The Currier Museum of Art takes an audacious step in its newest show, Killer Heels: The Art of the High-Heeled Shoe, on view through May 15. The exhibit chronicles the full history of heels in all their forms, functions—and nuanced meanings. "They're certainly meant to be sexy and powerful," says Currier assistant curator Samantha Cataldo. "But they're also a little dangerous." Among the 150 shoes on view, you'll find many pairs that have framed famous feet. But this isn't just any old Sex in the City survey. The show traces the whole story of heels from the 1700s to today—that men actually wore heels first (in 18th-century French courts); the way the steel used in skyscrapers is implemented in towering stilettos; how shoe architecture informs the gait of a Japanese geisha (even to this day); and more. Call it a well-heeled history. 150 Ash St., Manchester, NH, 603-669-6144; currier.org . HEEL THYSELF "HEELS ARE CERTAINLY MEANT TO BE SEXY AND POWERFUL, BUT THEY'RE ALSO A LITTLE DANGEROUS." —SAMANTHA CATALDO Yes, it's a shoe: The outré Beyond Wilderness heel is a collab between Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen and design house United Nude, which specializes in high heels. BOSTONCOMMON-MAGAZINE.COM 41 SCENE EVERYBODY 'S TALKIN G ABOU T