Don’t Miss Yves Saint Laurent: The Perfection of Style, at The Seattle Art Museum

“The whole way, you do not waste your time: you do the sewing, décor of theatre, etc. You will be very useful, if not indispensable to know the cut.

                                                         I shake your hand,

                                                                             Michel de Brunhoff.”

• A translated excerpt from Vogue Editor-in-Chief to a young Yves Saint Laurent.

This letter, dated August 19, 1954, from Vogue’s Editor-in-chief, Brunhoff, was written to an 18-year old Yves Saint Laurent who was just starting out in the fashion industry. The powerful mogul sweetly explains that, in fact, Saint Laurent is not wasting his time applying to elite Parisian fashion schools. Little did either of them know that very soon, the young, shy boy would become an iconic, world-famous fashion designer.

The Seattle Art Museum (SAM) is currently featuring a must-see collection of Yves Saint Laurent, which shares the story of a timeless and legendary artist and man. With more than 100 garments and rare documents, the exhibition provides a behind-the-scenes look into the life of one of the world’s most celebrated designers.

Photographs and a biography take the viewer on a visually stunning journey from Saint Laurent’s childhood in the then-French colony of Oran, Algeria, to his near-immediate success in the fashion world. There are rough drawings and sketches, toiles—a preliminary garment made of white cotton, finished products, and images of fashion shoots and shows. All of these materials encompass the work that went into each outfit. Every garment is topped off with stylish accessories and unique, personal touches. This exhibit shows him as a true artist—a man who lived and breathed fashion—not just a designer.

At the entrance to the exhibition hall, paper dolls strike the eye first--beautiful outfits the teenager made to scale. This is the first time the paper dolls have been shown publicly in the U.S, and they symbolize his first noteworthy work, providing a crucial precursor to later success.

Another curatorial concept which stood out were depictions of Saint Laurent’s early idols—from classic painters to playwrights and actors of the time. These influential people, from Pablo Picasso to Jean Giraudoux, influenced his works, making them less like clothing and more like otherworldly, unique pieces of art. In 1957 after working as an assistant for Christian Dior, Saint Laurent became Artistic Director of the House of Dior. Upon Dior’s sudden death, he soon became widely known by the public.

Even if you aren’t very interested in fashion — which I usually am not — this is an influential and inspiring exhibit. I appreciated seeing pieces from Saint Laurent’s most successful collections, as well as his lesser-known creations. Saint Laurent experimented with a variety of cuts, colors, and designs, but his personal values and style remained consistent throughout his career. The exhibition is worth seeing, because along with breathtaking pieces of art, a common theme is represented: working hard towards your passions will take you a long way, and stay with you forever.

Yves Saint Laurent: The Perfection of Style runs Oct. 11 - Jan. 8 at the Seattle Art Museum.

For tickets, visit seattleartmuseum.org, or go to teentix.org for a 5 dollar pass.

Peyton Blackmer ‘17 to Write in the 2016 High School 14/48 Festival

Peyton Blackmer is going to participate in the upcoming 14/48 High School Festival. 14/48:HS is “an instant theater festival produced, managed, and created entirely by high-school students,” according to the festival’s website. The night before the festival she will only have twelve hours (8pm to 8am) to write a short play that will be performed only hours after she has submitted it.  And she’s ready for the challenge.

Before being accepted to write for 14/48:HS, Peyton had some prior experience with SAAS’s own version of the festival during Spring Days last year.  When asked about the experience, she said, “It was really interesting because everything I had done up to that point was more along the lines of poetry instead of scripts.” Peyton was exciting to spend time thinking about characters and writing within the time constraints of the project.

Peyton has gone to multiple open mics and especially liked one called Youth Speaks Seattle.  She was nervous about it until she walked through the door and was embraced by such a welcoming environment.  She loves Youth Speaks because of the overwhelming support and all of the different perspectives she was able to hear.  

Her favorite piece of writing is the poem that she wrote for the junior class poetry reading last year, which was a very cathartic experience for her.  

Peyton finds inspiration for her writing in the little things she sees and hears around her.  One idea she’s had on her mind lately is “How much does a color weigh?” She asked this question when having a conversation about race in her English class.

In the future, Peyton hopes to keep writing and going to open mics and to someday become a published author.  

 The 14/48 High School Festival opens at North Seattle Community College on October 8th, at 7:30 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. only.

The Truth Behind the Bars: A Review of Bad Apples

In March of 2003 the United States began an almost two-month long invasion of Iraq dubbing the operation “Iraqi Freedom.” While in Iraq, the United States took control of a prison in a suburb called Abu Ghraib. There in the infamous cell block of Tier 1-A, three U.S. soldiers tortured Iraqi prisoners documenting the process with photos. These photos would eventually make their way to Dan Rather and CBS’s “60 Minutes.” This series of events, and the stories of these three soldiers, dubbed the Abu Ghraib Prison Scandal, have been transcribed into the new original rock musical entitled Bad Apples. This show just concluded its limited engagement run at ACT – A Contemporary Theater, as part of the ACTLab program.

However, if you thought this was a show where they pulled finger nails and tortured people to the death, you have the wrong idea. Remember those three US Soldiers that I mentioned above? Well the show follows their romance, yes you heard me correctly, throughout this chaotic time in history. These three soldiers loved, tortured, and survived together at a place the show entitles, Camp Redemption, or “a little slice of heaven.”

But before I get to much into the story of the show, I want to touch on the technical elements. The set was fine and did the trick, it provided director John Langs with different heights to play with and ways of splitting up the stage. However, the cabaret seating that was used, took away about four feet of play space on the stage, and didn’t really work. In honesty the lost space could most certainly have been utilized for certain moments, as some looked a little squished. Also in my opinion, this was not the type of show in which the audience should be sipping beer in the front row.

Yet, both the costumes and lighting design of this show shine. The costumes successfully transformed the nine different cast members (the show was ensemble heavy and most people doubled up on many parts, except the three leads) to each of their different roles.

The lighting was fun, and provided a fun rock musical vibe to go along with the show, while still isolating the sincere moments throughout.

Another intriguing aspect of the show was the band. There were only three live players, a drummer, bassist, and guitar player. The rest was done by tracks with electronic instruments which was then mixed with the live band.

Another strength that I would like to bring to light is the ensemble itself. This show did it well and did it right. The ensemble up the mass of characters with whom the three lead characters interacted. Some of the highlights were Frederick Hagreen’s role of Cunny. Throughout all four stunning monologues and several songs you felt for that character. This was only to be matched by the powerhouse voices of both Mari Nelson and Andi Alhadeff, both excellently highlighted in this show. However, these three are only a third of the cast, that made this show shine the way it did.

As for the show as a whole, simply put, I liked Bad Apples. There were some beautiful and hilarious moments like the sing-a-long opening to Act 2, or the beautiful hymn-like song entitled Home. Yet, honestly this was a show you see to take away the veil of mystery surrounding these events, not to try and put favor towards the US or what was done there. Whiles some of the show may have been excessive or far-fetched it was only done so to make sure that by the end, every member of the audience was feeling something. So while it was a long show at roughly three hours including two intermissions, I definitely left the theater feeling something, and hey isn’t that the point of theater in the first place?

Bad Apples played at ACT- A Contemporary Theater from September 7th-25th, 2016

Photo: Jeff Carpenter