Nick Cave is an American contemporary fabric sculptor, dancer, and performance artist. Cave's family was large in size and always supportive of his artistic interests. He claims his upbringing gave him an artistic attentiveness to found objects and assemblages.Cave's low socio-economic status growing up forced him to repair hand-me-downs from older siblings, which is where he began developing skills in manipulating fabrics. He created his first Soundsuit through the utilization of these skills.
The series "Soundsuits'' represent metaphorical suites of armor. They are meant as an alien second skin that covers race, gender, and class, allowing the viewers to look without bias towards the wearer's identity. In using everyday objects, Cave can create an atmosphere of familiarity while rearranging the objects into interpretive representations of both social and material culture.
Cave also works with choreographers, dancers, and amateur performers to create community celebrations in non traditional venues for art. Soundsuits are also displayed in exhibitions and museums as sculptures. Influences of African art traditions, armor, ceremonial dress, couture fashion, and designed textiles, as well as stereotypically feminine objects, are present in his work to express a multitude of concepts.
Nick Cave's first Soundsuit was created in 1992, as a reaction to the beating of Rodney King. Rodney King was an American author and activist who was a victim of police brutality. On March 3, 1991, King was beaten by LAPD officers after a high-speed chase during his arrest for drunk driving. For his first Soundsuit, Cave collected a large number of sticks and twigs from the ground and fashioned them into a suit that, to his surprise, made sounds when worn.
His works reflect and address issues of racial inequality in the United States. Although his works and his experiences are specified towards the US, the issues he addresses are relevant all over the world. The idea that we should not look at others with bias is a subject that we need to incorporate into our communities more often.
The intersection of art and life creates a new space where the reality of social constructs and how it influences individuals and communities can be expressed through a way that is easily understood and accepted by the majority. Although in Cave’s works, his intersections are between his individual identity and the social constructs he faces, our intersections could vary, such as our individual identities intersecting or clashing with the collective identity. Our intersections could also be between our self perspective and the perspective others have of us. These intersections are expressed in many different ways, and for Cave, it is through his artworks.
Author: Lindsay Liu
Biography: Lindsay Liu (she/her) is currently a high school student and aspiring artist in Grade 11 going to Southridge School in Surrey, BC. As an Art Student, she aspires to fully include the Arts and Design into her life. Lindsay loves how art is such an irreplaceable part of life and to the world we live in.
Contact:
Ins: lindsay_liu_____
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