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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 recogniz- able 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 department one of the most sought-after artists in the world. Although festive in spirit, the multimedia 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 gathering twigs and constructing a kind of protective garment-sculpture that served as a prototype for what he later termed soundsuits. He has made over 500 of them since. Cave's artistic production now extends into stand-alone sculptures, video, and perfor- mance, and it will take another turn this fall with "Until," an immersive, football field-sized installation at Mass MoCA in North Adams, Massachusetts. The issues it addresses, includ- ing gun violence, racial inequity, and police brutality, crystallized for Cave with the question, "Is there racism in heaven?" In a search for answers, he is taking viewers "into the belly" of a soundsuit. Among the startling sights will be a 40-foot-tall forest of wind spinners with cut-out images of guns, targets, and teardrops; a celestial garden with 30 antique lawn jockeys holding dreamcatchers; and a mountain range made of sheets of hand-beaded mesh. "I'm putting you in my head," the artist says. "These are the things I think about in my work." Cave, who grew up in rural Missouri and began his studies at the Kansas City (Missouri) Art Institute, is also part of a growing trend of community engage- ment in which an artist becomes what he calls a "cultural change agent." He recently collaborated with the Shreveport (Louisiana) Regional Arts Council on "As Is," a project with four local social-service agencies and an array of artists, dancers, and musicians that culminated in a massive public performance; in Chicago, where the artist maintains a studio in the Motor Row District on South Michigan Avenue, Cave supports South Side organization Little Black Pearl, which provides safe, after-school art activities for neighborhood youth. Notes Cave, "It's an important part of that community." Whether it's with his soundsuits, sculptures, installa- tions, 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 . NICK CAVE IS PART OF A GROWING TREND OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN WHICH AN ARTIST BECOMES WHAT HE CALLS A "CULTURAL CHANGE AGENT." 118 MICHIGANAVEMAG.COM CHICAGO