When Detroit artist Tyree Guyton creates a work of art, he likes to make it big and unique so it catches the eye.
“I wanted to create a miracle,” Guyton said. “I wanted to make something spectacular and outrageous. And I came up with the shoe-house.”
Guyton’s latest project is covering the home of Tracy Moos, the widow of former University President Malcolm Moos, with shoes, from top to bottom.
Shoes now cover the front and one side of the Moos’ home on the corner of Charles Avenue and Grotto Street in St.Paul.
Guyton has made works of art by covering several houses, but no two projects are alike. He has also covered houses in Detroit with polka dots and numbers, his co-worker Jenenne Whitfield said. This is Guyton’s first work in the Twin Cities.
Whitfield said Moos asked to have Guyton work on her home.
“She is a very eccentric, open-minded person,” Whitfield said.
Whitfield said she hopes the shoes are a permanent part of the house, even if Moos decides to sell it.
“I hope that it becomes an art center someday,” Whitfield said.
Whitfield said the project has received a lot of positive feedback from the neighborhood.
“A lot of kids have come around to watch,” Whitfield said, adding that people have stopped by to see the project all day.
The work will be finished by 4 p.m. Saturday, in time for a block party scheduled from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Whitfield said his past works have been received very positively in Detroit.
“The neighbors now take pride in their homes,” Whitfield said.
What is Guyton’s dream work?
“I’d love to polka dot the White House,” Guyton said.