Untitled Document

Friends of the Rag was a group of artists who entertained audiences in the greater Seattle area during the 1970's and 1980's.
	"If the Art Fits, Wear It"
FOR presented their first show in 1972, at the Grand Central Arcade in Pioneer Square, Seattle, and from that time until the 1990's produced well over 100 performances.
In the middle, from roughly 1979 to 1985, there was a hiatus.	The earlier group of the seventies disbanded, and when the group reconvened 5 years later, there was a change in approach as well.

A Product of the 70's The beginning was in 1972 with a collection of wearable artists, clothing designers, and costumers, who wanted a venue to showcase their work. Most of the artists modeled their own work, or recruited friends as models. The wearables were presented in a traditional fashion show format, using platforms and runways, and there was every expectation that at least some in the audience were interested in purchasing. Therefore programs from these early shows focused on the designer and the purchase price of the pieces, with only a passing mention of models.		The first show was concieved by Mickey Gustin, Roger Schreiber, Madeline Foster, and Lyla Foggia. It was intended as a fundraiser: from the first show, a kitty of $3000 was established, which was drawn from and replenished for every show after. These four collected the initial group of artists, organized the first and many following events, and generally set the stage for what came after.



	But scattered among the more conventional fashion pieces, there were always the outrageous, the whimsical, and the stunningly beautiful pieces that were in no way suited to every day wear.

	As more shows followed, the group became more confident in their ability to mount a successful performance. By the fall of 1975, FOR had produced eight shows on their own, and requests began to come for an FOR presence at gala events for the major arts institutions. Between 1975 and 1978, in addition to their own endeavors, FOR was commissioned for performances by the Seattle Art Museum, PONCHO Art Auction, the Seattle Aquarium, the Tacoma/Pierce County Civic Arts Commission, Bumbershoot Arts Festival, Capitol Hill Arts On Show, the Craftsweek festival, the Seattle Symphony, and various private events.
		Gradually the shows began to include a wider variety of artists, including jewelers, dancers, models, choreographers, photographers, hair and makeup artists, musicians, directors and graphic artists.

While the artists continued to model their own and other artists' work, they were joined by artists whose contribution was the presentation of the work only. The shows became less in the fashion show style, and more of a performance, incorporating more dance and theatre.

In 1978, FOR received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to produce a travelling exhibit of wearable art. The exhibit would travel for two years throughout North America under the auspices of the Western Association of Art Museums. Two performances were given at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, and the group was invited to the White House Halloween party. The theme chosen for the exhibit was, understandably, Travelling Modes and Devices. This endeavor taxed the structural and organizational resources of the group, which was until that time a loosely knit collective. The group disbanded in 1979.
		By 1974 the time-consuming job of President of FOR had been assumed by Tandy Messenger, and she led the group until its disbanding in 1979. Roger Schreiber was still involved as an organizer, but more and more became the official photographer for the group. Roger and Tandy were the impetus behind the NEA grant and the travelling show.

A Renewal in the 80's Then, in 1985, a few of the old Raggers decided to mount a "reunion" show and present it at Bumbershoot, the premier arts festival in the Seattle area. That show, called Altar Egos, gave the group second life, although many of the artists were new to the group.
	This reincarnation took on a different look, with much more emphasis on the performance itself. The wearable pieces were grouped in individual vignettes, with their own distinct music, movement and story line. The artists submitted proposals for pieces based on a theme, and were juried into the shows.

Once the vignettes were fleshed out and the pieces were nearly finished, music was added and the dancers and choreographers created the performance pieces.

The performing element of these shows gave greater importance to our contributing performing artists. Now much more time was spent on developing and rehearsing the vignettes. These little packages, lasting between 15 seconds and 5 minutes, were then collected in an order intended to enhance the performance. There was no longer an expectation of selling the work; the emphasis was on presenting the show.		When the group reformed in 1985, the leadership fell to a foursome again, made up of Indian Owen Griffin,Jaquelyn Power Kleiner, Corky Brown, and Maureen McGill Seal. The group attained non-profit status and continued to produce shows until 1992
		A good part of the production in the later shows was contibuted by Kris Williams and by our choreographers, primarily Linda Mathews and Karen Scherwood.
		The shows of the 80's were longer and more organized, running a hour or two as is expected of live arts performances. Shows were created for the BASH auction in Tacoma, Cornish School, the Sunset Club, the Seattle Repertory Theatre, and Charles Wright Academy, as well as for Bumbershoot. Several static exhibitions were also mounted, at American Art Company in Tacoma, Gallery '76 in Wenatchee, and North Seattle Community College.
	These productions required a great deal of time and effort, and were not financially rewarding. By 1992, many of the most involved artists were having difficulty finding the time required to produce the shows. FOR has done a handful of shows since 1992, but has not returned to the full-blown stage presentations of earlier times.
In the end, we are left with over 6000 slides and several hours of video to document the collaboration of more than 300 visual and performing artists over a twenty year period. This website is an attempt to preserve this legacy and to share it with a new audience in a new time.