Austin Way Magazine - GreenGale Publishing - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/692367
PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEOF TEAGUE/WWW.GEOFTEAGUE.COM (CAVE; BACKGROUND); JAMES PRINZ PHOTOGRAPHY. COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND JACK SHAINMAN GALLERY, NEW YORK (SOUNDSUIT ) N I C K C AV E THE PERFORMANCE ARTIST AND SOUNDSUIT INVENTOR TACKLES TOUGH SOCIAL ISSUES WITH HIS STUNNING FOUND-OBJECT CREATIONS. BY KYLE MACMILLAN A must-have for any contemporary art museum or top-level collector, Nick Cave's instantly recog- nizable soundsuits—exuberant, brightly colored wearable sculptures adorned with everything from buttons and hair to toys and other found objects— have made the 57-year-old professor in the School of the Art Institute of Chicago's fashion design depart- ment one of the most sought-after artists in the world. Although festive in spirit, the multi media creations are rooted in a dark moment: the 1991 police beating of Rodney King after a high-speed car chase in Los Angeles. Soon thereafter, Cave found himself gath- ering twigs and constructing a kind of protective garment-sculpture that served as a prototype for what he later termed soundsuits. He has made more than 500 of them since. Cave, who grew up in rural Missouri and began his studies at the Kansas City (Missouri) Art Institute, is part of a growing trend of community engagement in which an artist becomes what he calls a "cultural change agent." Whether it's with his soundsuits, sculptures, installations, or community projects, Cave seeks to transport people into a contemplative, healing, and transformative realm. "I'm creating this space," he says, "that allows one to imagine." "Nick Cave: Until" opens at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art on October 16. 1040 Mass MoCA Way, North Adams, MA, 413-662-2111; massmoca.org. nickcaveart.com CHICAGO With its roots in issues like gun violence and racial inequity, Nick Cave's colorful art ultimately seeks to transport viewers into a realm that allows for healing and transformation. COVER, AT LEFT: Soundsuit (2015). 96 AUSTINWAY.COM