May 2015 Letter From The Editor: By The Sea

Posted on May 14, 2015, 5:34 pm
6 mins

Slide

Dear Reader,

Boating season has officially kicked off along with SIFF and Black Box 2.0. During the Seattle International Film Festival, I enjoy going to the movies and stuffing myself with popcorn, then taking an evening walk at Myrtle Edwards along the waterfront to reflect on what I saw…or, if the movie is particularly weird, to shake it off. (In case you’re feeling overwhelmed by the SIFF calendar: Don’t fret. Film writer Marcie McCabe will be sharing a weekly post in VS Daily with carefully researched suggestions.)

While the Vanguard Seattle team is busy attending lots of opening parties and trying to take in as much as possible from two simultaneous art and film festivals, we notice that the whole city is growing giddy with anticipation of warm days and long summer nights. Nobody enjoys outdoor cafe seating and lingering cocktail events as much we do. The smell of sea air pleasantly wafting around us on the waterfront and downtown infuses the experience of gallery-hopping and festival-going with a romantic quality distinct to this time of year. It’s the stuff of nostalgia enjoyed in the present.

This month, our theme “By The Sea” brings nautical fashions for women in Lisa Cole‘s “Treasure Island: Three By the Sea Looks,” and for men in my column “He’s My Mister: By the Sea,” inspired by Sanford Roth‘s iconic photo shoot with James Dean. In addition, Lisa Cole does a great preview of Fall trends for forward-thinking fashionistas in her Fall/Winter 2015 preview.

David Strand looks at the ecologically visionary work of artist Buster Simpson, whose works are found throughout Seattle and who has a unique vision for the Seattle Central Waterfront Project. Since the 1970s, Simpson has devoted his work to acknowledging the human impact on ecology and water systems in particular. Regarding his upcoming project Anthropocene Beach:

“Much of the waterfront’s design aims to create a polished, metropolitan boundary where the “Emerald City” meets the deep blue sea, but Anthropocene Beach prefers transparency over polish, acknowledging the history of the site and the complex web of ecological relations between humans and non-humans that inhabit the waterfront.” 

Music writer Johann Van Niekerk gets shushed at the opera following Richard Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos. This will be his last article for Vanguard Seattle as he will moving south for an assistant professorship at Centre College. We are sad to lose this insightful and entertaining writer, but happy that he will be putting his knowledge to full use. In ‘High’ and ‘Low’ Art Share the Stage in Seattle Opera’s “Ariadne”, Van Niekerk elucidates the historical context of Strauss’ wild, comedic opera:

“The division between two categorical opposites, the opera seria and opera buffa—serious and comic operas, respectively—dates back to at least the 1600s. (It could be argued that the roots of these forms extend further into the past, to the madrigals and performing troupes of troubadours.) In nineteenth-century Europe, such divisions in the arts were the subject of endless arguments. No other art form was as debated as opera, Singspielen or ‘music dramas,’ from such dead serious composers as Weber, Wagner and, of course, Strauss.” 

As economies change, shrink and grow in a blink, businesses must keep up. Lately, we’ve seen many corporate business models shifting as people grow to favor local, smaller businesses, especially where food is concerned. Starbucks and even McDonald’s have been adapting to keep profits up as the millennial’s show their regard for fresh, healthy, eco-friendly and local products as priorities over thrift. The French are known to have these intrinsic values built into their way of thinking, so I became optimistic to learn the French distilled beverage conglomerate Pernod Ricard has adopted an inspiring model, developed by a team of Swedish designers and entrepreneurs. In T.s. Flock‘s Cafe Society article on the newly opened Our/Seattle Vodka distillery in Ballard, we learn about the dream team of locals running the show and the new ideas behind it. There’s so much to love about the Our/Vodka concept, including its continuing crossover into the arts and design communities internationally and locally. This article is the first of several that T.s. Flock will be publishing on design and designers in the region, so stay tuned for more.

Also look out for the latest What’s Good in Seattle from Lois Leff, Fuse: Art + Tech with Susie Lee and more essays and gallery guides. I’m ready to throw on a summer dress (or a stylish striped pullover), grab a comfortably-sized bottle of vodka, and head over to a backyard party or Lake Sammamish with friends and family—but I’m especially looking forward to seeing everyone out and about on the waterfront and downtown for films, music and art.

Thanks for reading, and happy May!

Illustration by Ken McCarty

Illustration by Ken McCarty

 

Sarah Caples has lived in Seattle since 2004 working as a fashion stylist for private clients. Sarah launched an art and society blog in 2008, along with a monthly salon at The Sorrento Hotel, which ran until June 2012. As executive editor of VanguardSeattle.com, Caples hopes to cultivate an informed dialog about regional culture and bring people of diverse backgrounds together in support of nonprofits, artists and community builders.

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