SOUNDSUIT, 2009; found vintage ceramic bird figurines, beads, appliqué
found beaded and sequin fabrics; 7' x 40" x 38". Image courtesy of the
artist, Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
(YBCA), San Francisco, California. Photo: James Prinz.
Nick Cave is the subject of a feature in our November/December
2009 issue. A former Alvin Ailey dancer and current chairman of the fashion department
at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Cave’s wearable works of
art, “soundsuits,” merge textiles, sculpture and performance. The
mesmerizing and awe-inspiring soundsuits, some as tall as twenty feet, are all
carefully crafted with a wide range of techniques that include, embroidery, crochet,
knitting, and rug-hooking with found and repurposed materials such like doilies,
sweaters, twigs, buttons, tin cans, ceramic figurines, toys, and human hair. A
feast for eyes as well as the ears, over fifty of these joyful creations with
accompanying performance videos are featured in the retrospective exhibition Nick
Cave: Meet me at the Center of the Earth organized by the Yerba
Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, that was the subject of the article
in Fiberarts and will travel the United States through 2011.
Here we share videos about Cave and his sound suits.
