User:SAutumnUCM/sandbox

Nick Cave Information and Resources:
- Sounds suits are assembled from found objects at flea markets and then hand-sewn together

- Suits are designed to remove the person underneath and instead leave only the desired emotional response portrayed through the choreographed movements and sounds

- Nick wanted viewers to be caught in a trance or dream like state where he could then provide an emotional experience

- No two costumes are alike nor do they create the same sound

- Has evolved suites in to standalone sculptures, paintings, and a blend of both in relief sculptures featuring some paint

-  Low socio-economic status forced him to repair hand-me downs from older siblings, this is where he began developing skills in manipulating fabrics 

- Earned BFA from KCAI

-MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art

- Studied modern dance at the Alvin Ailey Company

- Created first sound suit shortly after the beating of Rodney King in 1991

-  Nick felt "discarded, devalued, and viewed as less than (a man)" 

- Sound suits allowed nick to communicate through with out judgment based on his race or gender

- First "sound-suit" was created from twigs and not intended to create sound- only once Nick Cave was inside the finished piece did he notice the ruffling sounds made by the suit when he moved

- This inspired Nick to use his knowledge of choreography to create a specific set of movements that made a rhythm

PierceJ2020 (talk) 20:41, 2 March 2019 (UTC) - In March of 1991 Nick Cave saw the footage of Los Angeles police officers beating Rodney King. At this time his work had nothing to do with the figure or performance art.

-  " It was literally overnight that i turned a corner, and I couldn't go back" 

-  Wanted to condition himself in a way that protected him from this sort of discrimination so he made a literal "second skin" 

- First suit was not intentionally made to be worn

- 500+ sound suits now made

-  Has concerns about keeping it artistic and not just a costume 

-  Uses a workshop with many assistants, fabricators, suppliers and others 

 - Head studio assistant is Jen Grygiel 

- Conceptually relates the differences in sound suits that look visually similar to the differences that occur in performance art, never exactly the same

 - David Greene: owner of "Iron and Wire" a fabrication shop frequently used by Nick Cave based in Skokie, Illinois 

 - Works rarely on pieces that are not in the round but enjoyed the dimension of working with bas-relief - he reefers to them as paintings 

- Ross and Elizabeth Fiersten (husband and wife) worked in Chicago to create much of the work for reliefs based off of rough conceptual drawings made by Nick Cave

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- Single parent home with 7 siblings all brothers- lived in Fulton, MO

- Loving mother that encouraged his "different" ideas of fashion

- Could see his grandparents house out his window where they had a large garden

- Other grandparents not far (Chariton, MO) and had a full size farm where he remembers working to care for crops and chickens

PierceJ2020 (talk) 21:42, 2 March 2019 (UTC)

-"Until" installation at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams displayed October 2016 through September 2017

-references the phrase "innocent until proven guilty"

-the installation is a representation of the interior of one of his Soundsuits as well as double as a performance space involving relational aesthetics

-his Soundsuits' protective intent was spurred by the events surrounding Rodney King in the early 1990's

-he wanted "Until" to open a dialogue between all types of people

Cmf00690 (talk) 07:54, 6 March 2019 (UTC) -known for performance art, dancing, fabric sculpting, assemblage sculptures

-Soundsuits for dance costumes are also viewed as wearable sculptures

-their colorful and elaborate exteriors are meant to emphasize ambiguity in ethnicity and obscure the expectations of the human form

 -uses a lot of feminine objects on the exteriors of his Soundsuits to further their indistinguishability based on sexuality and gender 

Cmf00690 (talk) 08:23, 6 March 2019 (UTC) ''' -Cave's outfits have a vibrant palette of African art traditions, plate armor, ceremonial dress, couture fashion, and textile design influences the composition of sound suits. '''

-usually had performance suits, or sculptural totems for exhibits, and other performance suits for performances such as dance, mobility, and sound.

-picked twelve locations, Detroit being one of them, because these places speak history, aesthetics, and identity of the city.

-Greetings From Detroit, has several individual pictorial narratives the pair the Cave's sound suits with locations with strangeness, complementary ingenuity, and beauty.

-Went to the Cranbrook Academy of Art while in Detroit.

-Through this project he wants to galvanize and make an impact on Detroit's predominately African-American population.

-''' Cave describes himself not an artist but a messenger. Because it pairs spectacle with responsibility. '''

-First sound suit 1991 Rodney King.

-Sound suits create a second layer of skin over the person that includes race, gender, and class.

''' -Cave's art work deals with strategy to negotiate the real life stakes of vulnerability and consequence. '''

-The suit transforms the person and changes the environment.

-Performances create situations to where diverse communities come together to share the experience.

-"sound suit invasion," act of positive aggression.

-Sound suits are harbingers of the zealous optimism.

16:34, 8 March 2019 (UTC)

~SAutumnUCM~

Ragan Gish

- Nick Cave talks about how his inspiration for his series called Soundsuits came from a childhood and life of racial profiling and feeling outcast as a minority in a largely white community.

- Cave felt like the suites were like a coat of armor to shield him from reality and the world around him.

- He did this because he feels that the costumes force you to look at the work and appreciate it for what it is rather than ridiculing and focusing on the individual who created the work.

' - Cave explained that Soundsuits'' was a way to force himself to cope with his identity as a black man and as a minority in mostly white community. '''

- His first Soundsuits was created in 1992 in response to the Los Angeles riots over the Rodney King Case. This was Called Twigs

- Twigs is a Soundsuite made entirely out of twigs he found in the park. He explains that the inspiration for this piece came from thinking about what it feels like to be discarded and overlooked in society. He was strolling through the park while pondering this dilemma, when he stepped over a small twig. Then he started to think about how this twig used to be a part of something but now it lays here on this side walk to be stepped over, discarded.

- Twigs was also the first Soundsuit of the series because after he finished it, put it on, and began to walk around in it he realized that it made a lot of sound.

Creative Process and Artistic Views
Cave's low socio-economic status forced him to repair hand-me downs from older siblings; this is where he began developing skills in manipulating fabrics. The beating of Rodney King and the degradation he felt as a black man in society at the time motivated Cave to create his first soundsuit through utilization of these skills.[3] Up until then, his work had nothing to do with the figure or performance art. He explained that he made a sudden shift that would redefine the work he was making. [4]

Influences of African art traditions, armor, ceremonial dress, couture fashion, and designed textiles[7] as well as stereotypically feminine objects [6] are present in his work to express a multitude of concepts. Much of his work is in the round, but occasionally he enjoys the dimension in working with bas-relief, referring to them as paintings [4].His work deals with strategies to negotiate the real life stakes of vulnerability and consequence by transforming the experience and environment. With his performance art he aims to create situations where diverse communities come together to share the experience, [7] making sure to distinguish his pieces as art rather than costumes[4]. Cave describes himself not as an artist but as a messenger as his work deals with spectacle and responsibility [7].

Nick Cave creates most of his pieces in a workshop with several assistants, fabricators, and suppliers, his head assistant being Jen Grygiel. He most often commissions fabrication from a shop in Skokie, Illinois called "Iron and Wire" owned by David Greene. [4]

Cmf00690 (talk) 20:52, 14 April 2019 (UTC)

Nick Cave has been known for making sound suits since the early 1990s.

In 1992, the news of Rodney King's situation led to Nick Caves inspiration to start his soundsuit series.

Cave responds to many issues regarding African American life and violence in America as a means to "create a suit of armor" through his sound suits series.

The "sound" in soundsuits comes from an implied sound that the viewer is meant to imagine rather than that of actual sound.

Cave utilizes many found objects in his work ranging from ceramic birds & flowers, figurines, and various objects found throughout thrift stores, antique malls, and family cupboards.

Nick Cave's exhibition UNTIL at MASS MoCA building 5 is a multi-part installation that fills a space of 18,000 square feet. The installation includes a vast number of wind spinners including custom made spinners, various found objects, mirrors, and a crystalline cloud like structure with chandeliers

Nick Cave's Up Right performance piece was showcased in Shreveport and Detroit.

Much of Nick Cave's work is meant to create a dialogue around race, social class, violence, and power relations regarding visual arts.

Nick Cave's Meet Me at the Center of the Earth exhibition includes fifty sound suits.

Nick Cave was raised in a small town in Texas by a single mother and with 6 other brothers.

During Cave's younger years, he performed with the Alvin Ailey dance troop.

Cave originally studied fiber art and in 1982 received his BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute. Later in 1989, he went on to receive his MFA from the Cranbrook Academy of Art.

As of 1989 Cave has taught in the Fiber arts Program at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Cave has ran a successful clothing company in Chicago, designing, manufacturing, and marketing his own line of men & women's clothing.

Triscuit003 (talk) 17:21, 19 April 2019 (UTC)