Former Gov. Sarah Palin may not be strutting the runway at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C., this week with other potential GOP presidential candidates, but she did make an appearance at the 25th annual Ketchikan Wearable Art Show, which kicked off Friday night and runs through Feb. 25.
Susan Walsh, one of many creative Ketchikan residents young and old participating in the event, hit the runway masquerading in parody of the "Wasilla Belle."
Walsh's outfit was an outsized, larger-than-life caricature of Palin. The front of her costume featured a beaming Palin, wearing a white wedding dress accentuated by a bright red cape and a beauty pageant sachet that read "The Quitter Queen." As Walsh spun about the stage, the rear of her costume came into view -- an intimidating dark side to the former governor, Palin scowling in a black dress and toting a shotgun.
"The Quitter Queen" was among the most popular wearable art exhibits Friday night, according to participants. Walsh chose a Sheryl Crow soundtrack for her catwalk, "Say What You Want," a song from the well-received studio release "100 Miles From Memphis" that debuted in July. Crow began turning heads back in the late 1990s in the "Lilith Fair" festival of female singer-songwriters; currently, many of her songs can be found in television commercials, Starbucks Coffee compilations or on satellite radio Muzak. But "Say What You Want" is more reminiscent of an antiwar, anti-establishment folk song than some of her more well-known tunes, like "Soak up the Sun," which is featured in commercials for antidepressants, McDonalds, Toyota and other products. It has not been released as a single. Its lyrics are highly critical of cable news and the confrontational politics of current, current events.
Crow may have had Palin in mind when she penned "Say What You Want." A sampling of the lyrics: "I saw you ranting on TV today \ I heard you tell me to reload \ You got a lot of nerve to talk that way \ Someone unplugged the microphone \ I'm tired of all the fighting, cynicism and back-biting \ Can't even hear myself think \ You pour the Kool-Aid and then we drink. So much noise, so much chatter \ Does the truth even matter? \ Say, say what you want to \ Even though you never mean it \ Ignorance is patriotic, reason is idiotic \ Winds of change keep on blowin', if this is America you'd never know it."
Back in Southeast, wearable art is one way folks in Ketchikan and Juneau celebrate high fashion, haute couture, modern art, kitsch Alaskana and their unique, regional progressivism and non-conformity with the rest of the state.
First Friday art parties were canceled this month in anticipation of the runway and the creative costumes locals donned. Jean Bartos, a 36-year resident of Ketchikan and current volunteer for the Ketchikan Area Arts and Humanities Council, said she'd participated in near every Wearable Arts Show since its inception back in 1986.
Back then, Alaska had another controversial governor, Bill Sheffield, who was making national headlines after the state Legislature convened in special session to consider impeaching him. Juneau got in on the party a few years later, with the inaugural Wearable Arts Extravaganza making its Capitol debut in 2001. This weekend celebrates the 10th anniversary of Juneau's fashion-as-art party.
"I make practical pieces that you can wear -- classic clothes based on the 1950s or 1930s, very high fashion for women -- but others make things that are really off the wall," Bartos said. "It's a really, really fun event. Everyone from elementary school kids to people my age, in their late 60s, gets involved."
Wearable Art exhibits, including Walsh's quitter queen, which is titled "Mama Media," are on display at the Main Street Gallery in downtown Ketchikan through the end of the month. No word on whether Palin herself was expected at any of the extravaganza events in Juneau or dance parties in Ketchikan.
A great video archive of past Wearable Art events was available for viewing here.
Contact Eric Christopher Adams at eric(at)alaskadispatch.com