Nick Cave

Reuse Suits

or as Nick Cave calls them - Sound Suits

twig reuse
Twigs, one of Nick Cave's first Sound Suits, he says they're "full body suits constructed of materials that rattle with movement, like a coat of armor, (they) embellish the body while protecting the wearer from outside culture." Cave constructed his first suit after watching the Rodney King incident. www.facebook.com

costume made of sticks
Each twig is drilled and sewn onto a wearable/movable frame. When Cave realized the suits emitted sound as they move - he called them sound suits. And he dreamed of assembling multiple, to hear the combined sounds as they move. Nick Cave has a Master's Degree in textile design and was an Alvin Ailey dancer. www.facebook.com

Button and Abacus Suit. Nick's assemblages consist of scavenged objects, castoffs re-collected from flea markets and thrift shops and decorative odds & ends. www.jackshainman.com

Crocheted Doily Reuse. Fashion, sculpture, textiles, performance... www.facebook.com

toy reuse
Toy Top Reuse - Six years back, Sound Suits sold for $12,000 - now they are 7-10 times that. www.nickcaveart.com

hat reuse
Hat and Handbag Reuse. Cave was one of eight brothers and hand-me-downs throughout childhood were familiar, which made reuse or reinventing easy for him. www.facebook.com

crochet reuse
Rug reuse, wearable fabric sculptures. thescienceofdesign.blogspot.com

Sequin Reuse. www.facebook.com

Sequin Reuse, Close-up of intensive hand-work. www.jackshainman.com

Silk Flower Reuse. www.facebook.com

fake fur costume
Nick Cave SoundSuit. Shaggy pelts of fake fur in motion. www.facebook.com

cousin it costume
Cousin It Sound Suit. “You’re forced to come to the work without judgment. That’s the bottom line. We live in a world that wants to categorize and put things in a particular place.”

fake fur costumes
Nick Cave Sound Suits as performance art. www.facebook.com

silk flower reuse
Silk, plastic and fabric flowers with sequins and embroidery. www.fromtheglobalvillage.com

hummel reuse
Bird and Cat Suit. Ceramic birds in perpetual flight. www.facebook.com

Mitten and Sock Reuse. www.facebook.com

old sweater reuse
Old Pajamas Reuse. www.jackshainman.com

silk flower reuse
Doily, Button, Plastic Flower Reuse. www.facebook.com

Button Reuse. www.facebook.com

Nick Cave was born in Fulton, Missouri, in 1959. He earned a BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute in 1982 and an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art (fiber arts program). Currently, Cave is assistant professor and chair in the Department of Fashion Design at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He also designed clothes for a decade and is a former Alvin Ailey dancer. Nick has an upcoming show at Jack Shainman Gallery, NY. Sept 8 - Oct 8, 2011. www.jackshainman.com In collaboration with Mary Boone Gallery. www.maryboonegallery.com

A solo traveling exhibition of Cave’s work entitled Meet Me at the Center of the Earth was recently on view at the Seattle Art Museum. A major presentation of Cave’s work will be on view at the Tri Postal, Lille, France, in Fall 2012.

Cave has recently been included in group exhibitions at institutions including the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, 2011; Göteborgs Konsthall, Sweden, 2010; and Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Germany, 2011. He is also included in 30 Americans: Rubell Family Collection, which opens in October 2011 at the Corcoran Art Gallery in Washington, DC, and will be included in the Prospect.2 Biennial, taking place throughout New Orleans in Fall 2011.

Public collections include the Brooklyn Museum, New York; Crystal Bridges, Bentonville; the Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit; the High Museum, Atlanta; the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC; the Museum of Art and Design, New York; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; the Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco; and the Seattle Art Museum, Seattle; among others.

Nick Cave - Art in Motion - Another good vid is here: www.youtube.com

To buy soundsuit wrapping paper, magnets, etc... soundsuitshop.com

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Posts: 1

Sound suits
Reply #1 on : Sun September 11, 2011, 14:30:28

These are off the scale wacky I'd like to see them moving as they must work really well.

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