Axehole

Every Friday at Axehole, we try to bring you the most unusual music or audio find of the week. In previous weeks, we’ve delivered a promiscuous batch of strangeness, including Microsoft’s plan to buy its want into your pants, stripper ringtones and grunge-guitar robots.

This week’s pick is a pair of shoes. That play audio. And video. And have a GPS system built-in. And are designed for prostitutes.

The “Platform” shoes are part of the Aphrodite Project, a project that is designed to challenge our views and morals:

Platforms is designed to question moral attitudes and value judgments, especially with this marginalized section of the population: Who gets new technology and when? What is the true value of sexual services? Using an archetypal model, is it possible to reclaim the profession for modern women? What are the ethics of surveillance and tracking? Is it possible to ensure that this information will empower and not endanger sex workers? Is it ever possible to guarantee that knowledge will stay within the hands of those who it is intended for?

The shoes address creativity and artmaking as well as practical issues of design and marketability. It is my hope that in addition to creating beautifully crafted objects, the project will contribute to the current international debate over the regulation, decriminalization, and legalization of prostitution.

The Aphrodite Project: Platform shoes are no ordinary shoes. According to the designer, the shoes are designed “using the ‘follow me’ sandals and flute-playing prostitutes of antiquity” for inspiration, “with a number of features to help you get noticed.”

The unique features of these shoes include:

• Video
• A 3.5 inch LCD monitor on the side of each shoe that plays video and helps you to bring in more clients
• A text overlay allows you to have your name, phone number, and email address or website continually scrolling across the screen, so clients can look now and call you later
• Audio
• Speakers in each shoe that play audio for attracting clients and setting the mood while you work
• New video and audio clips can be downloaded to the shoe from our website as easily as downloading cell phone ring tones
• You can completely customize your shoes with your own videos and music

You can find out more about the shoes and the ideas behind them at the SexyGPSShoes site.