Pics by Arrested Motion (C) 2010 Rei Sato/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd.

On Saturday afternoon, AM was invited to attend the opening for “Works & Process” at the Guggenheim Museum. The annual production of Sergei Prokofiev’s children’s classic Peter & The Wolf has become a local holiday tradition that brings together some of the brightest artistic talents to create an unforgettable production that weaves art, music and performance into one. The vaunted collaboration brought together NYC Opera’s musical director George Manahan to conduct the Juilliard Ensemble, while fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi narrated the tale.

We were especially interested to see what Kaikai Kiki artist Rei Sato would come up with as she was tasked to create the set & character design. Known for her approach that draws up memories of adolescence, Rei created the characters based on Asian lanterns which took shape as they were individually lit on cue to compliment the carefully narrated story. Each character seemed to jump to life with the enthralling melodies and the patchwork colors for each figure were even more beautiful in person than in the production sketch we previewed for you last week.

At the end of the performance, a special treat was in store for those in attendance as all were invited up to the stage to get up close and see Rei’s creations in person. Children’s eyes lit up as they walked up to their favorite characters. This limited engagement runs until Dec 19th, so get your tickets here if you’re in town.

See it all after the jump.

Pics by Arrested Motion (C) 2010 Rei Sato/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd.

Pics by Arrested Motion (C) 2010 Rei Sato/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd.

Pics by Arrested Motion (C) 2010 Rei Sato/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd.

Pics by Arrested Motion (C) 2010 Rei Sato/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd.

Pics by Arrested Motion (C) 2010 Rei Sato/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd.

Pics by Arrested Motion (C) 2010 Rei Sato/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd.

Pics by Arrested Motion (C) 2010 Rei Sato/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd.

Pics by Arrested Motion (C) 2010 Rei Sato/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd.

Pics by Arrested Motion (C) 2010 Rei Sato/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd.

Pics by Arrested Motion (C) 2010 Rei Sato/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd.

Pics by Arrested Motion (C) 2010 Rei Sato/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd.

Pics by Arrested Motion (C) 2010 Rei Sato/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd.