Volume 15 Issue 5

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3 Courses, 21 Restaurants, $25* | $35* September 19-25, 2016

NIGHTS WORTHY OF A CHAMPAGNE TOAST World-class opera meets a world-class soiree for six amazing weeks at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.

Kick back before the show over picnic baskets and wine in our beautiful gardens. Linger with friends after the show for champagne under the stars, along with the leading men and fabulous divas of OTSL. Robust Wine Bar

Learn more at OperaStories.org For menu or venue info, visit: WWW.DOWNTOWNRESTAURANTWEEK.NET *Per person, per restaurant. Taxes, gratuity and alcohol not included. Dinner only. When placing your reservation, please call the restaurant directly and be sure to mention “Restaurant Week.”

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DEDICATED TO ART AND FREE TO ALL

Open Tuesday–Sunday, Always Free

slam.org | #stlartmuseum

Edgar Degas, French, 1834–1917; Little Dancer of Fourteen Years, c.1880, cast c.1920; Saint Louis Art Museum, Funds given by Mrs. Mark C. Steinberg 135:1956

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Publisher’s Note AS A KID I was encouraged to express myself. I would mix tops and bottoms, put my belt a little too high or low and use found objects to make necklaces before confidently walking into the classroom at elementary school. My parents tell stories about me sitting in my room for hours talking to my imaginary friends using elaborate storylines. I frequently gave performances at dinner time, including a long, orchestrated marriage to a bowl of Spaghetti O’s. One evening while the rest of the family ate fried steak and green beans, I decided to prove my love to those little o’s. After the microwave timer went off, I pulled out the bowl and carefully walked down the aisle before giving a speech about our devotion to each other. My siblings rolled their eyes and my dad said, “There’s our little drama queen.”

I was a pretty eccentric kid.

In middle school I became aware that being expressive was being different, and in the suburbs of St. Louis, being different wasn’t the way to climb the social ladder. The summer of sixth grade I convinced my mom to go to Limited Too so I could be on trend like the popular girls. I straightened my wild curls and practiced the perfect combination of lip liner and gloss. By the time I entered high school my expressiveness was tamed and I had mastered being mysterious and charming with the boys.

Ten years ago I started my work with local designers through Saint Louis Fashion Week and it was in this work that I reclaimed my independent style and gained confidence to show up as a little more me. Behind the scenes of the runway, I witnessed the designers confidently sharing their points of view with the world. A couple of years ago I started only buying clothing from people I know, which helped me align how I spend my money with what I care about. Over the years I’ve experimented with wearing a dress made out of x-rays to a gala (thank you Michael Drummond) and a handbag made out of materials from a barn (courteous of SKIF) and I saw how much my clothes can actually inspire me in my work and creative life. Because I’ve had the opportunity to do this work and spend time with so many talented artists, I am happy to say that bold, imaginative, drama queen is not only alive and well—but 100% devoted to expressing herself.

Love,

Elizabeth Tucker @eliz_tucker

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Photo by Richard A Nichols Photography.

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Letter from the Editor MY GRANDMOTHER WAS an incredible storyteller. All she needed was the slightest hint that I wanted to hear about the past and she was off. As a child, I would listen intently for hours on her green brocade loveseat, bathed in warm light reflected off the soft pink walls of her living room. Later, as a teenager, I devoured stories in the pages of her memoir—published only for close family members’ eyes. Her kindness and enthusiasm for life was an infectious gift she passed on through her memories.

One of her favorite stories took place in a small restaurant, outside her Missouri town. She worked as a waitress for an entire summer to earn enough money to buy a new fur coat. Her family had very little money, but wearing that fur coat made her incredibly proud. She had cared for a sick mother and lost her father at a young age. With 17 years of poverty and struggle behind her, the purchase of a new fur coat— something normally reserved for those far above her station—was a powerful symbol of triumph.

She had proven to herself that she could shape her own destiny. For her generation, a new coat wasn’t merely a luxury purchase. That pride for her appearance and bold resilience carried her through a Great Depression, a World War with a soldier husband and her first son’s death. Her ability to always be her original self meant that she could wake up every morning and confidently face the world.

I’m sure you have stories like hers. Whether it is through what we wear, the art we create or how we spend our time, everything we put out into the world expresses who we are as unique individuals.

This issue is steeped in stories of personal expression. Cole Lu, a Taiwanese immigrant now living in St. Louis, has built a robust art career creating visual work commenting on language and miscommunication—something she struggled with while transitioning from

Mandarin to English (page 16). Lisa Hackwith of Hackwith Design House, observed a need in the American market for unique, minimalist clothing. She dedicated herself to creating a sustainable line, all manufactured by seamstresses in her Minnesota studio. By simply doing what she loved, she’s garnered more than 100,000 Instagram followers and the respect of stylish women and top fashion bloggers worldwide (page 22). Emerging St. Louis artist Kahlil Irving blends pottery and installation to comment directly on current events and social and racial inequities. He uses his beautiful craft to express his deepest feelings about pushing the community forward (page 18).

In two of our deepest stories, we present a mix of individuals, all vastly different, all using their unique gifts to convey their ideas. Kansas City Designer Matt Baldwin has worked tirelessly for years to cultivate a successful denim brand. Now expanded to include a lifestyle range, Baldwin’s company has won praise internationally— including props from Conde´ Nast Artistic Director and Vogue Editor-In-Chief Anna Wintour (page 36). Throughout our country’s history, fashion, music, fine art and culture have always been influenced by underground expression. In “Birth of a Movement,” take a closer look at an arts renaissance based in south St. Louis and how a group of collaborative individuals have been stoking the coals under an artistic fire that is now burning bright (page 46).

Whether you’re a small-town kid trying to make a statement, a famous artist or perhaps a presidential candidate, don’t wait to express yourself honestly. Pride yourself on owning your game. Because whether your granddaughter is watching—like I so closely was—or the whole world hangs on your every word, someone sees you. Someone hears you. Someone is waiting to see what you’ll do.

Expressively,

Rachel Brandt @RachelEBrandt

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“Hair has huge power in our society.” -Charlie le Mindu “Charlie Would” • Sept. 15 - Nov. 19, 2016 projects-gallery.com

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Photo by Attilio D’Agostino of conceptual work by Cole Lu.

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14 Food | Alex Carlson

24 Style | “Rock Steady”

63 Partners | “Statement Style”

16 Visual Art | Cole Lu

28 Fashion | “Neutral Territory”

72 Guide | Fall Arts

18 Studio Art | Kahlil Irving

36 Entrepreneurs | Matt Baldwin

76 Calender | Find Us Here

22 Designer | Lisa Hackwith

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46 Community | “Birth of a Movement”

80 Literature | “Tell Jesus”

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Foccacia Baker Alex Carlson’s salute to the loaf that started it all.

BY KELSEY WAANANEN + PHOTO BY JENNIFER SILVERBERG

In the back of Red Guitar Bread, sits a 20,000-pound oven that is the apple of baker Alex Carlson’s eye. Get close enough to the mantle— Carlson is more than happy to show it off—and you’ll see the limestone is inlaid with “honest-togod fossils,” and the exterior is clear of any stray wisps of smoke.

This duo has been through numerous loaves, and now pizzas together, but Carlson’s love of baking started long before he had the plans laid out for the oven or Red Guitar. While attending culinary school in Chicago, one of the first loaves he attempted to make in his “abusively tiny”

Ingredients: 2 pounds, 4 ounces all-purpose flour 2 pounds of hot water .5 ounces active dry yeast .75 ounces fine sea salt Extra virgin olive oil, as needed 1 pound starter, optional 3 tablespoons rosemary, roughly chopped Flake, kosher or coarse sea salt for topping Yield : approx. 1/2 sheet pan

Method: 1. Pre-heat oven to 500 degrees F (or 550 degrees F if possible).

2a. In a large bowl, add water and dissolve yeast.

2b. Optional: dissolve starter, ideally around 76 percent hydration, with water and yeast.

3. In a slightly smaller bowl, stir together flour and salt.

4. Add dry ingredients to the bowl with water and stir thoroughly and vigorously with a sturdy wooden spoon. Stir until the dough just begins to pull free of the sides of the bowl and is free of lumps. This is also a perfect job for your hands, so get the ingredients combined with a spoon or spatula, then dive right in with a clean hand.

5a. Option 1: Cover the bowl with plastic or a damp towel and rest at room temperature or slightly above for at least an hour, no more than a few. If resting longer than an hour, wet a hand thoroughly, then lift/ turn/punch down the dough to redistribute the yeast and air, then give it at least a half hour to relax before step 6.

5b. Option 2: Let the dough work for about an hour at room temperature, then cover tightly and refrigerate up to 36 hours. Chilling the dough will slow the yeast activity significantly, and give it time to develop more flavor. You can also use this step to put the dough on your schedule— mix at night, chill overnight, and bake

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apartment—“I could get the bread out of the oven from my bed.”—was a 90-minute focaccia. The impressive aroma of this loaf started Carlson down a winding path to owning his own operation.

Though he’s cycled through a few careers— including a stint as a motorcycle mechanic— Carlson is back in his kitchen. There, he pays respect to the creatures doing the heavy-lifting when it comes to bread: microbes. In honor of the good work they do, Carlson likes to keep Red Guitar’s recipes simple. In fact, his main philosophy is that bread is simply an expression of time, grain and heat.

in the morning. Give the dough at least two hours to temper out of the fridge in a relatively warm spot in the room prior to baking. And it would be wise to turn it as in (5a) above, to temper it a bit more evenly.

6. Thoroughly coat a 1/2 sheet pan with EVOO. Get a little olive oil on your spatula, and use it to release the dough from the sides of the bowl, to help it pour more easily. Then, pour the dough into the middle of the sheet pan, ideally in one piece.

7. Using well-oiled hands, gently coax the dough to the sides and corners of the pan, into a fairly even piece. If the dough is still chilly, or hasn’t rested too long, it will be a little elastic and resistant to your coaxing. Fear not: As it relaxes in the pan, it will take shape more easily. Let it rest for 15-20 at room temp, then come back and push it around a bit more.

8. Top the dough with more olive oil (be generous, you won’t regret it) and dimple the dough all over, taking care to not press all the way through to the pan, or it may stick when it’s done. Sprinkle the sea salt, and the rosemary all over the top, and don’t miss the edges and corners.

9. Place the sheet pan on the rack in the upper-third of the pre-heated oven. Don’t even look at the oven door for about 10 minutes. The biggest disadvantage to baking bread in a home oven is the incredible heat loss from removing an entire wall of the oven—that is, opening the door. You want this bread to get a good initial hit of heat so it rises to form the big beautiful bubbles indicative of a proper focaccia. After ten minutes, open the door, let the aroma send you into a state of sensual euphoria, and move the pan to the lower third of the oven, and rotate it 180 degrees for even browning. After five more minutes, lower the heat to 400 degrees F, and start checking the top of the bread for doneness every couple minutes. You’re looking for deep golden brown.

10. This is the absolute hardest part: let the bread cool in the pan, ideally on a wire rack or somewhere air can circulate underneath it. That’s so it cools faster so you can eat it sooner. You’ll want to.

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Inside Outsider Art A conversation with Cole Lu.

BY JORIE JACOBI + PHOTO BY ATTILIO D’AGOSTINO

St. Louis-based artist Cole Lu has always taken one piece of advice to heart: Never hesitate if you’re thinking about buying a book. That’s how she ended up with more than a thousand of them in her Downtown loft apartment.

“My dad has been the library director at the Oriental Institute of Technology in New Taipei City, Taiwan for more than 30 years, so that’s how I grew up. The library was my babysitter,” she says.

A graduate of Washington University’s MFA program and Assistant Director of Fort Gondo Compound for the Arts, Lu’s work often centers on questions of identity and the irony of miscommunication, largely inspired by literature. “So much of communication is based on gesture, body language, and eye contact.

Those speak louder than the words you choose,” she says.

Born in Taiwan, Lu has a heightened capability to capture that double-edged sword of communication: how it bears the ability both to connect and to isolate. The idea led to her show at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis in 2015, titled “Smells Like Content.” Lu’s latest installation is built from a library of her own books, shown at Roman Susan in Chicago. Of the work, she says, “This library is my self-portrait.

It’s very personal.” This year she will also show at the Fiesp Cultural Center in Brazil, and in the show “Brave New World” in Greece. I sat down with the artist to discuss her inspiration and background as a creator.

Are you the kind of artist who came out of the womb and started sketching? No, I started with photography. For me, it was a quick entry point to art-making without formal training. I didn’t need to paint the most beautiful painting to feel like I was qualified to make work. Then I realized that how I see things together is the craft. I taught myself dark room photography on the weekends while I was 16

working full-time as a lab manager at a plant and microbiology lab, and used my darkroom photos to apply to graduate school.

Do you think art has the ability to influence positive social change? I do. Art, because it’s a visual language, can disseminate broadly and open up a dialogue. It’s a good way to create change, rather than coming in with a manifesto.

Especially with a lot of the great programming in St. Louis—the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis is free, Saint Louis Art Museum is free, Pulitzer Arts Foundation is free. That’s really rare and different from many other places.

Museums cost money, and cost is another way to reject certain people. But visual art as a language can be the norm, and it can be used as a social justice tool. Having it free and open to the public makes that possible.

Is your family supportive of you making art for a living? At first they were like, “What are you doing?” But at the time, when I chose to quit my job and go to grad school, I wanted to fill my soul, rather than be a breathing machine in order to get my bills paid, have money, and then consume something material to fill whatever may have been empty inside. I couldn’t take it anymore. They understand that. My mom said, “Whatever makes you feel happy is the most important thing.” She knows that I don’t need a beautiful outfit or a house in the suburbs in order to feel happy. This is enough for me.

What do you think of the label “mixed— media artist?” I think labels are really funny.

They’re just an easy way for people to filter who I am. People tend to be intimidated by things they can’t figure out, and it’s a way for them to quickly assess what you do. I don’t get bothered by it. I consider myself a visual artist and I choose media that fit the concept. Sometimes it’s books, sometimes it’s an envelope, sometimes it’s audio. I’m not bound by any medium.

Where do you find inspiration? I find inspiration locally because I have a lot of amazing artistic friends—not to mention a lot of faculty from Washington University in St. Louis and an amazing writer’s community, which influences a lot of my work. St. Louis is really good in that way. As far as artistic inspiration, I think it’s both travelling and staying rooted, where you can build a really personal connection.

You’ve talked about losing your mother tongue, Taiwanese Mandarin, in the process of learning English. Can you elaborate on the implications of that and how they surface in your work? Yes. Even though my work has an aspect of humor, it also has an aspect of sorrow. I think this ability to know multiple languages is also a disability, because in order to know a language so well that you can be fluent, somehow you have to give up some capacity of another. I can’t always be 100 percent fluent; for me, they cancel each other out. My mother tongue has gotten worse over time. I’ve made work about the same thing— how you might be a part of multiple cultures and then in the end, you don’t feel like you belong to a certain one (as seen in 2016’s “Soft Architecture”). I constantly feel like I’m an outsider of every culture and every language.

When I go home to visit, I feel a reverse culture shock because of a lot of customs and cultures that I’m not used to. Luckily, I am in visual art. My peers tend to be extremely liberal and understand the notion of marginalization.

I consider myself lucky to be surrounded by people like that.

Cole Lu’s work will be exhibited at The Luminary in St. Louis opening on Sept. 2, as part of The Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition triennial exhibition and regional artist exchange. The show is titled “Concept/Focus,” and will be on view through Sept. 29.

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From South City to Venice Introducing potter and provocateur Kahlil Irving.

BY EILEEN G’SELL + PHOTOS BY ATTILIO D’AGOSTINO

Taking a step into artist Kahlil Irving’s dimly lit basement studio on Washington University in St. Louis’ Danforth Campus, one is struck by the thought that no amount of box-store fluorescence can dull the brilliance of his latest installation. Lined up atop a bolted wooden structure standing five feet high, row after row of black vases shine down like giant chess pieces. Arranged as they are just out of reach, the urns impose the sense that in this space we are but toddlers learning to walk.

The effect is intentional. “The work is this big because I want it to be that you can’t get by it,” Irving explains. “These are domesticized objects, but presented here, they can’t be used as domesticized objects.”

Gesturing up at the rows above, Irving holds forth on some of the concerns that guide his methodology. “A lot of these objects are influenced by historic European ceramic or

porcelain vases—they were highly decorative and ornate. Europeans used these terms to perpetuate a type of narrative—of white fragility, to keep the poor down, and keep the rich rich. So I thought, ‘What if I take those same forms and add something of my own? How can I break the understanding of porcelain as white and fragile?’”

One answer is to paint them all black, though “paint” isn’t exactly accurate; each vase is coated in the same glaze but fired differently.

The result is a spectrum of blacks that reflect light differently from various angles. Some of the blacks are opaque, while others shimmer like an old-school car or edgy ‘90s nail polish.

Light reflecting off the objects takes on gray, gold and coppery tones.

As Irving carefully describes the different ways in which silt and the various glazes interact with heat, he links his technical approach to

contemporary events that matter to him—be they the recent university student uprisings in Columbia, Missouri, or the research he’s conducted in downtown East St. Louis on the 1917 race riots with documentarian and professor Denise Ward Brown. The piece we’re gazing up at now is called “Before and After Sundown, Town,” a reference to St. Louis’ history as one of many 20th century “sundown towns”— locations where the law prohibited black citizens from being in certain neighborhoods after dark.

“Glaze is a skin; it’s not in the clay, it’s on the clay,” the artist points out. “If the glaze is the skin, then these objects can be thought of as black people in a congregation or on a march.”

Indeed, the fact that all of the objects stand orderly and erect in rows gives the sense of organized movement. Irving is quick to explain how this series of scaffolded works have similarly politically charged titles: “’49er’s VOLUME 15 // ISSUE 5 19

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(Dead Soldiers),” “ConcernedStudent1950: or The Johnson Family Reunion,” and “X,” made of two intersecting ten-foot tables.

Growing up in St. Louis city and training at the Potter’s Workshop in Forest Park Southeast and Craft Alliance as an adolescent, Irving’s sense of himself as a maker doesn’t comply with distinctions between art and craft. “I am a potter, but I am not limited to or by X, Y, and Z,” he insists. Along the same lines, he has a problem with conventional distinctions between art and craft, as though anything deemed “craft” is intrinsically lesser. “Craft is actually a verb. You craft something, you go to craft,” he says. “It’s really challenging for me to see and deal with how the meaning of craft has been transformed.

It’s as though ‘either you’re an artist or you just make stuff.’ It’s degrading.”

At the time of this interview, Irving was embarking on an artist residency at the Scuola Internazionale di Grafica (International 20

Graphics School) in Venice, where he planned to devote six weeks to a printmaking, painting and bookmaking residency. “Going to Italy gives me the freedom to spend time learning more about what I studied in undergrad. As a double major in art history and art, it’s an opportunity to see the buildings and art I’ve read about.”

Despite the piazza-riddled romance of the City of Water, Irving had no plans to neglect the exigencies of the world he was to leave behind.

In Venice, he would work on a series of prints in response to “black as a color” with relation to the July shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. Committed to an art practice that explores the “constant slaughter of black people,” Irving doesn’t mince words when it comes to what he’s about and what art traditions he intends to mindfully subvert. “We have to remember that capital-A art was made by Europeans, and it isn’t right to alienate those who aren’t engaging that narrative. If people are

not engaging that narrative, but what they’re making is innovative and challenging—it’s art.”

At 24, Irving speaks about his practice with an impressive level of clarity. “I’ve been a potter for 12 years,” he emphasizes. “My acts of making come from a knowledge of the history of ceramic objects—I seek to design and create things that others haven’t made before, to collapse the history of ceramic objects and how those objects were used not only for function, but for politics.”

Including “Before and After…” along with the new prints from Venice, Irving will present his first solo show at the Bruno David gallery opening September 16, as part of a new and final installation of “Undocumented,” an ongoing series comprised of more than 600 black handmade ceramic vases. In spring 2017, he will complete his Chancellors Graduate Fellowship tenure, receiving his Masters in Fine Arts degree from the Sam Fox School of Art and Design.

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Lisa Hackwith of Hackwith Design House A Minnesota designer puts quality first.

BY KAYLA UNNERSTALL + PHOTO COURTESY OF HACKWITH DESIGN HOUSE

In a world filled with mass-produced fast fashion, Lisa Hackwith’s handmade collection sewn by a small team of talented seamstresses in her Minnesota studio stands out. The independent design house is a distinct part of a movement toward quality, handmade design in America in which designers are reviving the artistry and craft of apparel manufacturing.

This is exactly what has drawn so many to Hackwith’s ready-to-wear range, crafted with quality fabric, a minimalist aesthetic and timeless design.

After graduating from college with a degree in art, Hackwith taught herself to sew and quickly immersed herself in design. Seeking both minimalist beauty and practicality, Hackwith sewed daily for five years and her label’s unique aesthetic found success on the popular handmade website Etsy and in the wholesale market. Inspired by the work ethic and stamina of her parents, who are also small business owners, Hackwith took a risk in September of 2013, moving her store off of Etsy and building her own studio. Releasing a new limited-edition design every Monday (fewer than 25 of each design are produced), the label’s innovative business model quickly created buzz.

In addition to the limited-edition range, Hackwith Design House has grown to include HDH Swim, HDH Basics, HDH Plus and a newly launched bridal line. Every piece is designed, sewn and inspected in the Saint Paul, MN studio, allowing Hackwith to have complete quality control and to employ a talented team.

With the sound of industrial sewing machines roaring in the background of the raw space, Hackwith walks around her bright, sun-bathed, studio overseeing the entire design process from beginning to end. From time to time, she tries on sample pieces, wearing them around the shop for hours with one goal in mind—her clothes should not only make her customers look good; they should also make them feel good. Soon after her work caught our eye we invited the designer for a conversation to learn more about her process and vision.

What type of woman do you envision wearing your clothes? The whole idea

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behind our more minimalist style is that the designs can work for anybody. We have customers ranging from teenagers to women in retirement. We love when people take our pieces and style them to make them their own.

How does your background in studio art influence your design process for HDH? I had an art professor that told me that when you get stuck, you just have to keep working, keep producing. You may keep making bad stuff for a little while, but it’s that bad stuff that may lead you to the next great thing. That advice has stayed with me as I’ve been designing clothing.

Sometimes I have to make nine things I’m not happy with to get me to the tenth thing that is just right.

Can you tell me about your biggest accomplishment thus far in your design career? I think my biggest accomplishment was starting. It’s so scary just to start, whatever that may look like for you. For me, it was starting my own website and getting off of Etsy.

I wanted everything to be perfect, but you can stop yourself from ever starting if you let yourself get too inside your own head. At some point, you just have to take the plunge.

You and your husband work together. Can you describe your relationship and how it grew professionally? I was lucky to have a husband that was incredibly supportive, and he saw how happy making clothes made me. He encouraged me to pursue it full time, and I’m so glad! Then on top of that, he designed our entire website. He really understood what I wanted it to be, so I was very lucky to have him as our designer.

In light of the recent launch of HDH Bridal, can you tell us about your own wedding dress? Did you design it? I did design my own dress! I really wanted a simpler silhouette with a sustainable fabric; I used a white linen. My own dress has been in the back of my mind as I started this company, and eventually, I had the time and resources to start our own bridal line. We just launched HDH Bridal, so we are spending time growing that line and focusing on how to make all of our lines even better.

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Rock Steady Get stoned with this season’s newest accessories.

PHOTOS BY ATTILIO D’AGOSTINO + STYLED BY SARAH STALLMANN ASSISTANTS: BROOKE LOWREY + SARAH THOMPSON

Above: Vintage lapel pin and beaded handbag—Retro 101, Cherokee Street.

Seraphine Design Raw Pyrite and Fluorite Cosmo Lariat—seraphinedesign.com.

Right: Vintage Bakelite bangles—Retro 101, Cherokee Street. Seraphine Design raw pyrite Cosmo Triangle Pendant + Raw Pyrite with Carnelian Origin bracelet— seraphinedesign.com. Gucci New Ace floral-embroidered leather low-top sneakers—Neiman Marcus, Plaza Frontenac.

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Left: Stella Blue Design Sugaree Druzy Bar necklace + Across the Universe necklace— stellabluedesign.com. Seraphine Design Raw Pyrite and Blue Agate Origin bracelet + Raw Pyrite and Carnelian Origin collar—seraphinedesign.com.

Above: Vintage pouch + broach—Retro 101, Cherokee Street. Prada Granato tassel mule pump—Neiman Marcus, Plaza Frontenac.

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Neutral Territory Clean lines, cool modernism and autumn’s sunset shades.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ATTILIO D’AGOSTINO Stylist: Sarah Stallmann Model: Sophia Simone @ NY Model Management Hair: Valerie Brown Makeup: Amber Perry Assistants: Bryant Finerson, Sarah Thompson.

Shot on-location at Pointe 400 Apartments.

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Left and above: Theory suit—Neiman Marcus, Plaza Frontenac.

Vintage Nine West booties—Avalon Exchange, The Loop.

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Left: Wildfox sweater—The Vault Luxury Resale, Brentwood.

LaMarque suede skirt—Neiman Marcus, Plaza Frontenac.

Above: Ralph Lauren Black Label sweater—Byrd Designer Consignment, Ladue. Vintage BCBG skirt—May’s Place, Lindenwood Park. Vintage Nine West booties—Avalon Exchange, The Loop.

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Above: Pauw blouse—Byrd Designer Consignment, Ladue.

Theory leather leggings—Neiman Marcus, Plaza Frontenac.

Vintage leather trench coat—May’s Place, Lindenwood Park.

Right: Alice + Olivia suede bell bottoms—Neiman Marcus, Plaza Frontenac. Michael Kors Collection sweater—Byrd Designer Consignment, Ladue. Vintage Nine West booties—Avalon Exchange, The Loop.

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Left: Pleated dress—The Vault Luxury Resale, Brentwood.

Vintage trousers—May’s Place, Lindenwood Park. Vintage Nine West booties—Avalon Exchange, The Loop.

Above: Vintage suede button-down—May’s Place, Lindenwood Park. Skif sweater—Skif, The Hill. Alice + Olivia skirt—Neiman Marcus, Plaza Frontenac.

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Repping Your Hood Kansas City designer Matt Baldwin proves international fashion brands can thrive in the Midwest.

BY DAN MICHEL + PHOTOS BY ATTILIO D’AGOSTINO

It’s 5am on a late summer night in 2009. Matt Baldwin is on his hands and knees in the basement of his Kansas City home. He’s hovering over dozens of jeans splayed out over his unfinished concrete floor. It’s late, but he needs to finish numbering and signing this first batch of Baldwin jeans. As he carefully scrawls on each pair, he recalls each step of the process—buying the denim at Cone Mills in North Carolina, sending them to Japan where they’re woven on selvedge looms, working closely with tailors in downtown LA, and finally shipping them back to his offices in Kansas City. Each pair in this batch is sentimental to him not only because they’re his first, but also because he’s selling them in his hometown: Kansas City.

Baldwin, 38, was born in Wichita, and now resides in KC. After spending time in Colorado, he

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moved back to KC with his wife Emily in 2003 to open Standard Style, a multi-brand clothing store in Leawood, just south of the city. But after six years, Baldwin, who attended the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in LA, was ready to embark on his own collection and open a shop, despite the tumultuous market—denim brands were shuttering en masse.

“It was in that post-9/11 era when most people were afraid to enter the marketplace,” says Baldwin. “That is exactly why I thought it was the perfect time to open a fresh brand with a voice based in real quality.” Baldwin developed a plan to blend American cotton with Japanese craftsmanship and a modern fit that’s tailored for today’s customer. It’s a model that would’ve been right at home on the streets of Williamsburg or Venice

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Beach. But Baldwin wanted his hometown to be the inspiration for—and home to—his new endeavor.

“I was always going to run this operation out of KC,” he says. “It was never a question.” It turns out he wasn’t the first to run a successful denim brand out of the city of fountains.

“If you look at the history of denim, Levi’s represented the West Coast, operating out of San Francisco. Wrangler occupied the East Coast in North Carolina, and Lee Jeans was in the Midwest—just outside Kansas City. And while we were taking a modern approach to this line, we really felt like we were picking up on this hundred-year narrative of classic American workwear.”

In late 2009, Baldwin designed his first sleek, monochromatic store in Leawood. “I’m a complete modernist,” he says. “I express my love for design and architecture in my stores, which I take great ownership in,” he says. You can find Baldwin’s modern design aesthetic all around him—even on his body. Tattoo sleeves cover his right arm and left leg. They’re a mix of Japanese art, ancient geometry and imagery from the Pacific Northwest.

That clean aesthetic has carried over into his line as well. Baldwin developed three custom jeans: the Reed (straight), the 76 (skinny), and the Henley (slim), named after his oldest son—the line’s best-selling fit to date. These pieces represented a return to quality and fit that reflects one of Baldwin’s personal fashion mantras: own fewer high-quality items and let them age beautifully. For raw denim, which he sees as the most versatile and valuable item in anyone’s closet, this means welcoming holes, tears, fading, whiskering, and other signs of age that tell the owner’s story and take on the wearer’s personality.

“I always tell people that they can beat up their denim as long as they care for it. Go as long as you can between washes. Just wash them cold, hang to dry—never use a dryer—and get back in them. After a few years, each pair becomes one of a kind,” says Baldwin. To that end, he offers free repairs for rips and tears on all of his denim to help extend the lifetime of each garment. It was that concept of jeans telling their owners’ stories that inspired the #MYBALDWIN program, wherein the brand buys customers’ old jeans and uses their natural fades and whiskering as inspiration for the following year’s washes.

Confident in his mission, Baldwin found validation in his customers’ response. “We sold 22 pairs in three hours that first day. That’s when I knew we had something special,” says Baldwin, adding he was outselling top brands like Nudie Jeans, Simon Miller, A.P.C. and Levi’s LVC collection. “We knew we’d struck a chord,” he says.

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Baldwin eventually expanded his line to include more fashion-forward lifestyle pieces like leather jackets, tailored sweats and finegauge knits. It’s a move that’s diluted many denim brands in the past.

“Every denim brand has lifestyle apparel now, and it often falls flat,” says Michael Stefanov, market editor for Esquire magazine. “Baldwin is one of the few lines with a lifestyle range that I actually want to own.”

Since the brand launched, Baldwin made an impression on the international fashion community. He’s also attracted the attention of fashion publications, earning a spot as one of GQ’s Best Menswear Designer of 2013. That allowed him to collaborate with Gap, which brought his designs to a mass audience.

“That line went bonkers,” he says. “It sold out in more than 200 stores worldwide.” From there, his line’s momentum continued. That same year, Baldwin opened another store in KC’s Plaza district.

In 2015, he was nominated as a finalist in the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, and the process was documented on Amazon’s “The Fashion Fund.” It exposed him not only to a wider audience, but also to influential fashion icons like Condé Nast Artistic Director and Vogue Editor-In-Chief Anna Wintour.

“She’s the most intentional person I’ve ever met,” says Baldwin, citing her constant composure and candor in the feedback she gives about his brand. “She’s the one who urged me to put Kansas City on our new label. She said, ‘Show me this city you come from.’ That was very affirming to know she wanted a piece of KC, too.”

Wintour isn’t the only one. Today, one of Baldwin’s signature pieces is its navy “KC” hat that’s popping up all over the world and on celebs like Jason Sudeikis and Olivia Wilde. “It had this profound connection with people well beyond just Kansas City,” says Baldwin. “The cool thing is that people have made that hat their own.” To him, the now iconic cap came to represent not only the concepts of high quality, American-made goods, but also the importance of local culture and what Baldwin calls “repping your hood.”

“To me, local culture is highly interesting—I don’t care where you go,” he says. “Whether it’s a small town in Japan or back in Kansas City where I’ve grown up and put down my roots.”

To Baldwin, his line represents a modern voice for Kansas City in the global style narrative.

“KC and the Midwest haven’t been tapped into fully. That’s why I’m so excited,” he says. “Because I’m uniquely poised to tell Kansas City’s story to the world.”

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Birth of a Movement Struggle and collaboration inspire new art and music in St. Louis’ South Side.

BY SARAH KENDZIOR + PHOTOS BY ATTILIO D’AGOSTINO

“Groundbreaking artistic movements have come out of struggle and suffering. Art is, in many respects, people’s salvation,” says St. Louis activist and entrepreneur Kaveh Razani. “I’ve always believed that we have a larger arts community than what our city would suggest.”

We are sitting near the entrance to Blank Space, the community arts venue on Cherokee Street in St. Louis that Razani opened in 2012. Blank Space is a collaborative initiative that hosts everything from art exhibits to poetry readings to concerts to social justice organizing strategy sessions. It is in the heart of the Cherokee Street arts district, an area touted by local media as a symbol of the south side’s rebirth.

But according to Razani, that is not the full story.

“All you have to do is stand on the street corner”—he gestures outside at decaying buildings—“and you’ll see everything. There are thousands of street corners like this all over St. Louis.” Razani is referring to the architectural slump and poverty that often tangles cities like St. Louis into a web of progress and deterioration as you venture from block to block.

For the past decade, neighborhoods like this one have been

the center of a dynamic arts and music scene, one which both reflects and is inspired by tumultuous events in St. Louis: the Ferguson uprising, spikes in crime and heated debates over poverty and gentrification. Though some who launched careers on Cherokee Street have gone on to find more mainstream appeal, everyone interviewed for this article emphasized that placating the masses was not their goal: innovative artistic expression and social commentary was. The art and music of St. Louis—often political, often experimental—are of and for St. Louis, uniquely reflective of the city itself.

“People can afford to be eccentric in their performances and their art, because it’s so inexpensive here,” says Scott Trausch, who co-runs Endless Planets record store with his partner Jeff Michael. He also hosts house parties showcasing St. Louis’s electronic music scene in the neighborhood surrounding Cherokee Street. “If you put the most interesting artists of St. Louis somewhere else, you wouldn’t see artists at all,” he continues, pressing the point that it’s so hard for artists to survive financially in other locales, “If you’re in New York or Chicago, it puts a strain on you. People here aren’t trying to move to places like that—instead they’re

Scan each portrait in this feature for access to augmented reality.

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St. Louis rapper Bates (bates-stl.com).

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Jeff Michael DJs a set at Endless Planets, the Cherokee-based record store he co-owns with Scott Trausch.

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trying to get national attention on their own terms, to play the sounds that were born here, that were created out of these conditions.”

Walk down Cherokee and you will encounter a microcosm of St. Louis’ diversity and adversity: long-standing Latino bakeries and clothing shops, a robust antique row, historic buildings both rehabbed and rotting, art galleries next to community centers that are helping impoverished youth, newly restored apartments adjacent to houses with shattered windows.

For Razani and the other proprietors of Blank Space, art cannot be separated from the public good. The journey to Blank Space began in 2011, when Razani—a 2007 graduate of the Community Arts Training Institute, a program that encourages its students to view art in the context of social justice—was helping a friend find an apartment.

“We were walking down the street when a guy was like, ‘Do you want to rent a building?’ My friend laughed. This was November of 2011. I said, ‘Let’s go look at it.’ About two or three weeks later, I signed the lease, went on the last vacation of my life, and came back and moved in on Jan. 1.”

Razani emphasizes that Blank Space has always been a group effort. The name of the venue was coined by St. Louis musician and Blank Space co-owner Black Spade (aka Veto Money), who Razani describes as “an artistic icon.” Along with other local creatives, like drummer Clayton Kunstel and artist/musician Coultrain, Razani and Spade envisioned a space open to any St. Louisan who wants to share their talent.

“We said, ‘We’re not going to start with a concept. We’re going to let people walk in and tell us what to do,’” explains Razani. “Hence the name Blank Space. And now for anyone who walks in and has an idea, we try to make it as easy for them to accomplish that idea as possible.”

It’s a collaborative, open-ended approach that stands in marked contrast to exclusive artistic venues in affluent cities like New York or San Francisco, which Razani—a former East-Coaster—describes as “soul-sucking.” As one of the most affordable cities in the US, St. Louis offers young artists more creative freedom, and for the past decade, a diverse art and music scene encompassing multiple genres—hip-hop, electronic, punk, rap and an undefinable convergence of all of the above—has emerged, drawing in artists and musicians from the Midwest and South, and flying largely under the radar of the national media.

“Momentum here is building,” says Jennifer McDaniel, a visual artist and musician who performs under the stage name Ice. “Artists here used to just feel passionate about making art, but now there are other factors motivating us. All the fire here, the crime, the violence—people are pissed off. Before 2014, I used to be more fun, I used to make more whimsical music,” she recalls. “But since Mike Brown was killed, it’s all changed. We can never go back, we can never forget what happened. I never have operated on a shallow level, but I feel more motivated to contribute for reasons beyond myself.”

McDaniel moved from Knoxville to Pensacola before settling in St. Louis in 2004 to go to school. She worked briefly as an architect, but quit her job admist a slow period during the 2008 recession. Faced with a bleak economic landscape but inspired by the city—“It’s beautiful, but it’s crumbling; I want to help it”—she now works

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as an artist and musician, bartending occasionally to pay the bills. After leaving architecture behind, she found like-minded artists and musicians on Cherokee Street, having been drawn to the area for its open, collaborative environment.

“Cherokee has become the mecca for newcomers who don’t know where the scene is. They’ll go there and try to find it,” she explains. But after 12 years in St. Louis, she admits she doesn’t go to Cherokee as often as she used to.

“There aren’t a lot of spaces left on Cherokee now that aren’t bars or clubs, other than Blank Space. You don’t have as much freedom in those kind of places. Now I show my work at house parties, basements—places that aren’t on the internet or in the phone book. We had a rave down by the river. It was awesome.”

Razani echoes McDaniel’s concerns over the area’s commercialization, noting that as rent on Cherokee Street has risen over the past few years, he and others have fought to preserve the area’s accessibility.

“In 2011, Cherokee was a lot of counter-culture,” Razani recalls. “Now there’s a lot of movement toward—I hate this word—hipster and tourist culture. And when you superimpose that on a very diverse and dynamic community that does not necessarily reflect those identities, it’s difficult. People don’t want to hear the word ‘gentrification’ on Cherokee, because they don’t want to believe that’s what’s happening.”

James Coleman, a business partner of Razani’s and Blank Space’s bar manager, is a long-time resident of St. Louis’s south side who has witnessed Cherokee’s transition. Like Razani, he is pleased to see the area prosper, but is worried that the virtues the community values—collaboration, affordability, experimentation—may be challenged as developers move in.

“It’s a tough one, man,” he says. “I like to see growth in the neighborhood. I like to see people walking on the street on Friday and Saturday afternoons, seeing the kids play in the park and people trying to do shows. All that stuff is amazing. But we don’t need a bar on every single corner.

“At Blank Space, we do everything we can get our hands on. We want to bring in people who haven’t been involved, and change their perception of what Cherokee is.”

One relative newcomer to St. Louis is Olan (short for Thomas Olanrewaju Osunsami), a musician and soundscape crafter who also performs under the name Biggie Stardust and as one half of the duo Yao Ming. Raised in Peoria, Illinois, he came to St. Louis in 2014.

“I’m still pretty new in the game,” he says. “I have friends who’ve been here longer and are doing really well. I can’t speak holistically about it. But I feel like it’s a great place to share yourself, to express yourself. People are very inviting and ready to make stuff happen.”

Asked to describe the music vibe in St. Louis, Olan laughs, trying to find the words. “It’s… interesting. You can kind of get lost in it, but at the same time it’s very contained, if that makes sense. It’s definitely a breeding ground for cool new things. From an outsider’s perspective, you can’t see that things are really connected. It looks like there’s an electronic scene, a pop scene, a punk scene, a rap scene.

But there are people who tie them together, and that’s what makes it unique. You may not see it from the outside, but it’s there.”

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Left: St. Louis-based producer, manager and music curator Drug Money USA hosts Atlanta Rappers Grown Money Qua. Above: Zack Slime Fr, and B La B at Scott Trausch’s underground music series, “The Mall.”

Like most interviewed for this story, he cites Blank Space as playing an important role among the Cherokee Street proprietors bringing diverse communities together, emphasizing collaboration over competition.

“I don’t feel like it’s competitive here at all,” Olan says. “You can be free. You can experiment. If someone is new and they don’t have a lot of experience, they’ll be encouraged.

There’s a group called Whiskey Janitor with a few videos online. They’re like improv/dance music/theater—I can’t even define them. But they are so good and so entertaining.”

Artists and proprietors contributing to the creative mix in this region were eager to cite

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other St. Louis artists and musicians who helped them come up, who have inspired their own work, or who are creating music and art that should get more acclaim. They were less interested in promoting their own work than that of others, and less interested in defining St. Louis’ “scene” than emphasizing its diversity and experimental nature— that it cannot, in fact, be defined.

That freedom comes in part from St. Louis’ relative affordability, but surviving as a St. Louis artist is still not easy. Razani and Coleman say they’ve struggled financially to keep Blank Space going, and they are concerned with the social and political problems of St.

Louis, particularly as gentrification affects Cherokee’s artists as well as residents of the neighborhoods surrounding the area. Being honest about St. Louis’ struggle, however, can make for great art—and a collaborative community that flies in the face of elite expectations.

“It’s the work we do when no one else is here that makes this place what it is,” explains Razani. “The same tensions on the street are the ones we have with each other, but we find ways to make it work. We make social and financial sacrifices. We choose to take the hard road, because that’s what teaches you the most. That’s what refines your soul.”

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Above: Installation art by Scott Trausch.

Right: Visual and recording artist, Jennifer McDaniel, aka Ice (blackjames.carbonmade.com).

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Left: Olan and Andy Lashier of Yao Ming live at CBGB. Above: Visual and recording artist, Olan Osunsami aka Biggie Stardust, aka Jung Bae Academy and one-half of the duo Yao Ming.

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Above: Recording artist Austin Carter aka Centipede.

Right: Artist and photographer Kat Reynolds (theunsuspended.com).

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Above: Artist and choreographer Audrey Simes (audreysimes.com).

Right: Blake Butler aka Blank Thomas performs at “The Mall.�

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Watch STL’s top fashion makers vie for serious bragging rights and a $10,000 grand prize at this Fashion-Meets-Shark-Tank-Style event.

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Statement Style Introducing our region’s most essential shopping destinations.

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The Vault Luxury Resale

Q | What songs might you hear if you walked into the store?

A | Music has everything to do with our vibe: You can’t serve wine and champagne in silence. You might hear anything from Madeleine Peyroux’s “Dance Me to the End of Love” to Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean.” We love upbeat tunes and are always turning the volume up. If our founder, Sue McCarthy is on the floor during a good song, she will break out and dance!

Q | What do you think sets The Vault Luxury Resale apart from other boutiques?

A | Our mission statement is the following: “The Vault is a gathering space that nurtures women through fashion and inspired events.” We think that says a lot about who we are and how we run our business. We are not just selling things. We are so much more.

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A | Sue McCarthy: Regal jackets befitting the queen of “Resale Royalty.”

Diana Ford: Fit and flare and tailored.

Anything green. Always statement shoes or rings.

Laura Maurice: Hippie, feminine, glamorous. You won’t find a LBD in my closet. Nothing tight, everything flowy, flared and long.

Head to ALIVEmag.com for the full Q&A.

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2325 S Brentwood Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63144 thevaultluxuryresale.com

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Blush For those craving a coastal vibe with Midwestern values, BLUSH Boutique at 159 W. Argonne Dr., satisfies that sartorial hunger. Inside the corner shop, the fresh, homey feeling guides your shopping as natural light washes over the curated selection. High-low is BLUSH’s go-to look, displaying delightfully affordable pieces with sought-after designer brands like Free People and House of Harlow 1960. On any given day, you’ll hear Stevie Nicks, Led Zeppelin, Odesza and Florence + The Machine streaming through the speakers while the fashionable staff—well-versed in styling—circulates.

The staff is ready to help build the perfect outfit or choose the perfect present, and beautiful gift-wrapping is no extra charge.

But this Kirkwood boutique is more than just great looks and cool vibe: Sustainable fashion is front of mind for the store’s buyers. At BLUSH, conscious shoppers will find collections like Cleobella, which employs and supports Bali artisans. The line also gives a percentage of sales to CARE, an organization focused on empowering women. That’s something we can all get behind.

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Byrd Designer Consignment Boutique Step into Byrd Designer Consignment Boutique, located at 8825 Ladue Road, and the clean lines and modern aesthetics of the bijou shop transport you to a world of the refined and refreshed. Instantly you’re in a sartorial haven, featuring shelves arranged with carefully curated lines and designer collections, including newly designed jewelry. Savvy shoppers won’t find mall store brands in Byrd, but instead are surrounded by consignment items— often unworn with tags still attached—hand-picked with the utmost quality in mind.

Byrd was founded in 2002 as an upscale women’s boutique. But after honing in on the luxury goods market, in 2011 it started offering clients high-quality, designer labels through consignment exclusively. With a reputation for providing one of the best shopping experiences in the city, Byrd Designer Consignment Boutique has been a top go-to for stylish shoppers searching for unique, quality pieces.

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Fall Arts Guide Discover inspiration in all its forms.

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COCA COCA kicks off its 30th season with “Outside In: Paint for Peace,” a showcase of murals painted on boarded-up storefronts following the 2014 protests in Ferguson, MO. Arts classes and a magical production of “The Ugly Duckling and The Tortoise and The Hare” round out the season.

Dance St. Louis, the leading dance presenter in the Midwest, presents five diverse productions for its 2016-17 season. Enjoy vibrant Bollywood, moving modern dance and innovative ballet, starting with a performance

by New York City’s Bill T. Jones / Arnie Zane Company on Sept. 30.

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MOSAICS

HISTORIC SHAW ART FAIR The Historic Shaw Art Fair features 135 artists from around the country.

On Oct. 1 and 2, guests will enjoy food, music, kid’s activities and—most importantly—great art. For $7, or $1 off with a canned-food donation, spend a fall weekend treating yourself at this highly-rated fair.

MOSAICS Missouri Festival for the Arts brings art appreciation and education to St. Charles on Sept. 16-18. Enjoy live music alongside featured exhibitions, including Children’s Village—a hands-on experience—and Art for Youth Gallery. stcharlesmosaics.org

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Claes Oldenburg, “Soft Light Switches” 1/2, 1964. Vinyl and Dacron. 47 × 47 × 3 5/8 inches (119.4 × 119.4 × 9.2 cm). The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri. Gift of the Chapin Family in memory of Susan Chapin Buckwalter. © 1964 Claes Oldenburg. Photo courtesy of Paula Cooper Gallery.

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SAINT LOUIS ART MUSEUM

Pulitzer Arts Foundation presents “The Ordinary Must Not Be Dull: Claes Oldenburg’s Soft Sculptures,” on view from July 29 to Oct. 15. Claes Oldenburg’s iconic soft sculptures playfully alter the material, form and scale of commonplace items, overturning sculptural conventions.

Opening Oct. 16, “Conflicts of Interest: Art and War in Modern Japan” showcases materials documenting Japan’s military rise in East Asia.

The exhibition includes paintings on screens and scrolls, and woodblock prints depicting battles and propaganda.

pulitzerarts.org

slam.org FEATURED PARTNERS

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Photos by R.J. Hartbeck.

Jazz St. Louis Advancing the art of jazz through live performance, education and outreach.

Great jazz should be seen and heard. When legendary jazz pianist Keith Jarrett plays live, he stands up, shouting and singing along as his fingers fly over the keys. To be able to fully experience a jazz performance like this one, seeing the musicians live is paramount. It’s almost impossible to keep from tapping your feet when a good drummer and bass player groove in the pocket or a pianist and trumpeter trade solos. There are only a handful of places in our region that offer a truly immersive experience and Jazz St. Louis surely tops the list.

The not-for-profit organization recognizes that jazz does wonders for the soul and believes deeply in Nina Simone’s quote, “Jazz is not just

music, it’s a way of life, it’s a way of being, a way of thinking.” That’s why it is dedicated to not just live performance, but also education and outreach, including early childhood opportunities, artist residencies, and high school training programs.

Beginning this September, Jazz St. Louis will once again bring a bevy of new artists to the city, debuting a host of new talent for its 20162017 subscription series. Whether you’re introducing someone new to the magic of jazz or looking to share the experience with a true jazz aficionado, we recommend Jazz St. Louis.

jazzstl.org

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Fall Arts Guide Discover inspiration in all its forms.

THE SHELDON Surround yourself with the engulfing acoustics of The Sheldon as it presents its 2016-2017 concert season. From jazz and folk, to classical and bluegrass, this season features Jason Marsalis, Marc Cohn, Kathy Mattea and many more. Call MetroTix at 314.534.1111 for prices and reservations. thesheldon.org

Images by Pratt Kreidich

ST. LOUIS BALLET Saint Louis Ballet presents its 2016-2017 season with classic productions “The Nutcracker” and “The Sleeping Beauty.” The lineup also includes the romantic “It’s Only Love” and the dynamic season-opener “Vision: Where Ballet + Fashion Meet” on the Touhill Performing Arts Center stage. stlouisballet.org

WORLD CHESS HALL OF FAME Join the World Chess Hall of Fame as it explores the cultural significance of chess through world-class exhibitions and programming, including lectures and musical performances. This fall, the WCHOF celebrates its fifth anniversary in St. Louis with new multimedia exhibitions. worldchesshof.org FEATURED PARTNERS

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Photo by Attilio D’Agostino. Kahlil Irving, Untitled (2016), Porcelain, Glaze. “Undocumented”Sept. 16-Nov. 5, Bruno David Gallery

CALENDAR “CONCEPT/FOCUS”

Sept. 2-29 • The Luminary The work of Cole Lu will be exhibited at The Luminary opening on Sept. 2, as part of The Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition triennial exhibition and regional artist exchange. The show is titled “Concept/Focus,” and will be on view through Sept. 29.

“UNDOCUMENTED”

Sept. 16-Nov. 5 • Bruno David Gallery Explore the history of racism, decorative ceramics and sculpture in Kahlil Irving’s solo exhibition at Bruno David Gallery. Through sculpture, Irving challenges the historic notions of colorism and the barriers separating communities.

HOP IN THE CITY BEER FESTIVAL

Sept. 17 • The Schlafly Tap Room Schalfly Beer presents HOP in the City, a fete of foam and funk that transforms The Tap Room into “The Toe Tap Room.” The event boasts the best of beats and brews with revelers enjoying more than 40 different beers and music from six diverse musical artists.

MURMURATION FESTIVAL

Sept. 23-25 • Cortex Innovation Community Meet future innovators, experience multi-media presentations and sample from local eateries at this three day art, music, science and tech festival.

In its first year, guests can enjoy cutting-edge musical performances and the STL Innovation Showcase, as well as discussions from national thought-leaders.

OKTOBERFEST ST. LOUIS

Sept. 23-25 • Midtown Brewery + Biergarten Head to Urban Chestnut’s Midtown Brewery and Biergarten for Oktoberfest, this year’s three-day festival. Enjoy a wide selection of local German brews from UCBC, Schlafly, 2nd Shift, The Civil Life and Perennial, along with delicious food and live music.

HISTORIC SHAW ART FAIR

Oct. 1-2 • Shaw Local artists, as well as craftspeople from around the country, will take over the streets of the Shaw neighborhood and will be placed alongside live music and local food in this professionally juried event.

ST. LOUIS DESIGN WEEK

Oct. 3-9 • Multiple Locations Celebrate creativity in St. Louis at the annual St. Louis Design Week, presented by the St. Louis chapter of AIGA. Design Week provides space for professional designers, entrepreneurs and local businesses alike to present their craft and learn new methods to perfect them.

ART OF TRAVEL

Oct. 6 • Lambert-St.Louis International Airport Don your ‘20s attire at the Art of Travel gala. “The Dawn of St. Louis Aviation” event features a silent auction, a live band and a gourmet table dining experience. All proceeds benefit the Lambert Art and Culture Program.

“VISION: WHERE BALLET + FASHION MEET”

Oct. 8 • Touhill Performing Arts Center Featuring costumes by recent Caleres Emerging Designer Award Competition finalists and choreography by two NYC choreographers, “VISION” presented by Saint Louis Ballet, in partnership with Saint Louis Fashion Fund, is a mashup of cutting-edge fashion and ballet.

Discover all the events on our radar at ALIVEmag.com.

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The Ordinary Must Not Be Dull: Claes Oldenburg’s Soft Sculptures Exquisite Everyday: 18th-Century Decorative Arts Objects from the J. Paul Getty Museum raumlaborberlin: 4562 Enright Avenue Jul 29–Oct 15, 2016

Wed–Sat, 10am–5pm; open until 8pm on Thu & Fri 3716 Washington Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63108 pulitzerarts.org | @pulitzerarts Claes Oldenburg, Soft Light Switches 1/2, 1964. Vinyl and Dacron. 47 × 47 × 3 5/8 inches (119.4 × 119.4 × 9.2 cm). The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri. Gift of the Chapin Family in memory of Susan Chapin Buckwalter. © 1964 Claes Oldenburg. Photo courtesy of Paula Cooper Gallery, photograph by Tom Powel.

OCT. 15-16, 2016 HALF MARATHON | 10K | 5K SAVE $15 WITH ONLINE CODE: ALIVESTL UNTIL 10/9/16.

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“Tell Jesus” WRITTEN AND PERFORMED BY BATES

DUO:

On a mount, and feeling like I’ll never get down

From the freedom boat to the mother load

When I just wanna slip through the crowd

I can’t see myself where did I go

And break through the ground with a shaft made of crowns

Got my shackles on (Master!)

And give everything I was given to get out

Got my shackles on (Master!)

Now tell Jesus

Got my coffles on

HOOK:

Got my coffles on

Is my father my oppressor and my lord?

Not a freedom boat nor gem in gold

And if I follow will he be my savior- will it ever be known?

Has my soul been stolen?

Where’s the father of my ancestors that they stole?

Got my shackles on (Master!)

Because tomorrow I won’t look any different and this won’t be home

Got my shackles on (Master!)

VERSE TWO:

Got my shackles on (Master!)

Yo! Tell him ain’t no place for me in hell

Got my coffles on

Tell him that they lying and they wanna see me fail

Got my coffles on

Tell him I’m in doubt and I’m not about to dwell

VERSE ONE:

I’m looking at the Bible like it’s not the Holy Grail

Yo! Images conflicting in my mind

Tell him that I’m looking for the truth beyond that

Middle fingers up ‘cause it’s nothing when you’re blind

And tell him that I know my ancestors found that

They put the oil on me and anointed me with lies

And tell him that I’m waiting on the Lord to validate

The Christians see me dykin’, say I’ll never be a God

If he’s the false prophet or the son that he gave

But I already died and I came right back

Tell him that his people are oppressed for the paper

Shit wasn’t fitting, they revised it made it fact

And tell him move now ‘cause ain’t no promising in later

Yet God is the image in the mirror looking back

And tell him the enlightened have no place for me in this

Yet God is the infant born addicted to the crack

And tell him that we fighting to make sure that we exist

That will grow up ducked up and black

And tell him that the white folks turned him into them

Cut from the trap

And tell him that I prayed but I’m still not him

Got me digging for my roots like, “Where the fuck are they at?”

And tell him that the scientists and atheists dispute

We don’t see our own people, ain’t no history to read through

I’m tryna get so heaven so I’m standing on the roof

I’ll be damned I be the sequel but it’s nothing to that

And tell him that the demons wanna take my next breath

Ain’t nothing in reach

And tell him when I started I had started with myself

I wonder if that’s the reason ain’t nothing at peace

And tell him that I will not, won’t confine him to a book

The hypocrites pointing fingers, I hate ‘em in the least

That’s written by my enemies who really are the crooks

They call me the spawn of Satan and label me the beast

And tell him the Creator found favor in me

I’m the lesbian, colored woman who fucked up everything

To steer the infidels and the folks who don’t believe

That stared at the fruit

And tell him that I’ve seen the profane in his name

Hungry for the truth so I suck every tooth

And tell him I reacted and detached ‘em from the frame

Nothing to prove, and nothing lose

And tell him that the Spirit’s everywhere that I walk

But I wish you shut the fuck up if it’s nothing to you

I pray it takes control of every word that I talk

I’m too real for these niggaz

I’m stressed out while critics try to tally up my faults

Get to talking spiritual with critical opinions

I’m slipping through the cracks, got ‘em looking for the caulk

Get to thinking biblical, subliminal existence

I’m maddened by the madness, question everything I’m taught

Tryna figure out if Jesus the one hearing my repentance

And I don’t know the truth to believe in shit

Picking up the Bible, worshipping this idol

I’ve steered from my ways yet I took not all in

Relating to my people like they really are my rivals

Now tell Jesus

They told me I was dead, yet I got my revival

HOOK

I’m looking for a pulse, I saw my people losing vitals

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3 Courses, 21 Restaurants, $25* | $35* September 19-25, 2016

NIGHTS WORTHY OF A CHAMPAGNE TOAST World-class opera meets a world-class soiree for six amazing weeks at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.

Kick back before the show over picnic baskets and wine in our beautiful gardens. Linger with friends after the show for champagne under the stars, along with the leading men and fabulous divas of OTSL. Robust Wine Bar

Learn more at OperaStories.org For menu or venue info, visit: WWW.DOWNTOWNRESTAURANTWEEK.NET *Per person, per restaurant. Taxes, gratuity and alcohol not included. Dinner only. When placing your reservation, please call the restaurant directly and be sure to mention “Restaurant Week.”

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