Nick Cave (artist) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Nick Cave
Born	(1959-02-04) February 4, 1959 (age 66) Fulton, Missouri, US
Education	Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Alma mater	Kansas City Art Institute (BFA) Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Cranbrook Academy of Art (MFA) University of North Texas
Known for	Performance art, sculpture
Notable work	Soundsuit series

Nick Cave (born February 4, 1959) is an American artist who creates amazing sculptures, dances, and performances. He is also a professor. He is most famous for his Soundsuit series. These are special costumes you can wear, made from different fabrics and found objects. They are bright, fun, and look like they are from another world!

Nick Cave also trained as a dancer with Alvin Ailey. He often uses dance and performance in his art. Later, his sculptures started focusing on how colors work together. He also made large art pieces called installations using many different materials. Today, he lives in Chicago, Illinois. He also leads the fashion program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He still creates Soundsuits and other art as a sculptor, dancer, and performance artist.

His first big museum show, called a retrospective, was at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. It ran from May 14, 2022, to October 2, 2022. Then, it moved to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, from November 18, 2022, to April 10, 2023. In June 2022, he received an honorary degree from the Rhode Island School of Design.

Early Life and Art Education

Nick Cave grew up in Fulton, Missouri, with his seven brothers. His single mother always encouraged his interest in fashion. His grandparents owned a farm where he sometimes helped with crops and chickens. He says that his childhood, especially using things he found, really shaped his art.

After elementary school, Nick moved to Columbia, Missouri. He went to West Junior High School and graduated from Hickman High School in 1977. An art teacher at Hickman suggested he go to the Kansas City Art Institute. There, he studied fiber arts and earned his degree in 1982. In 1979, Cave met Alvin Ailey, a famous dancer. For several summers, he studied dance in New York at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

After college in 1982, he designed displays for the department store Macy's. He also worked as a fashion designer while still loving art and dance. In 1988, Cave earned his master's degree from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. He also took some classes at the University of North Texas. After Cranbrook, he started teaching fiber arts at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1989. Since then, Cave has also run his own clothing company in Chicago. He designs and sells his own line of clothes for men and women.

How Nick Cave Creates Art

Growing up, Nick Cave's family didn't have a lot of money. He learned to sew to fix hand-me-down clothes from his older brothers. This skill later helped him create his first Soundsuit. Before that, his art didn't involve people or performance. He said that making the Soundsuit was a big change that redefined his work.

His art is inspired by many things. These include African art traditions, armor, special ceremonial clothes, and fancy fashion. He also uses everyday objects that might seem feminine. All these influences help him express many different ideas. Most of his work is three-dimensional, but sometimes he makes pieces that are flatter, like paintings.

His art often explores feelings of being vulnerable and the results of our actions. He tries to change how we experience our world. With his performance art, he wants different communities to come together and share an experience. He makes sure people know his pieces are art, not just costumes. Cave sees himself as a messenger, not just an artist. His work often deals with big public displays and responsibility.

One example is his piece called Augment. It has five large sculptures made from over 1,000 inflatable lawn decorations sewn together. These sculptures were shown in Boston from August 8 to September 13, 2019. On September 14, the art became part of a parade. The goal was to spread joy through two neighborhoods in Boston. More than 75 artists and performers, along with 500 people, joined the parade. This helped connect the two neighborhoods. The art ended up spilling out of a special building wrapped in collages made by the community.

Cave creates most of his art in a workshop with several helpers. His main assistant is Jen Grygiel. He often has parts of his art made at a shop in Skokie, Illinois, called "Iron and Wire," owned by David Greene.

Famous Artworks

Soundsuits: Wearable Art

Soundsuit (2009), Smithsonian American Museum

Soundsuit (2010), Renwick Gallery

Soundsuits are special costumes that cover the wearer's body. They are made from many different materials. These include dyed human hair, sisal (a plant fiber), plastic buttons, beads, wire, sequins, and feathers. When someone wears a Soundsuit, it hides their race, gender, and social class. This makes viewers look at the art without judging the person inside.

By using everyday objects, Cave makes his art feel familiar. But he arranges these objects in new ways to show ideas about society and culture. Since his art often explores race, identity, and gender, Soundsuits can share many messages at once. Their meaning can change depending on where they are, if they are moving, or if they are part of a group dance. The finished Soundsuits look a bit like African ceremonial costumes and masks. They also remind people of carnival costumes and Rococo art.

Cave made his first Soundsuit in 1992. It was a reaction to the beating of Rodney King, an event that shocked many people. Cave gathered many sticks and twigs from the ground. He shaped them into a suit. To his surprise, it made sounds when he wore it! His suits are often shown as still sculptures in museums. But they are also seen in live performances, videos, and photos. Cave often performs in the sculptures himself. He dances for the public or for the camera, bringing the costumes to life as art, musical instruments, and living symbols. He has created over 500 Soundsuits since 1992. Dance and choreography inspire him greatly. The Soundsuits allow him to combine both arts. He wants his work to be seen without thinking about the artist. With the Soundsuits, viewers don't know who is wearing them.

In 2021, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York asked Cave to create a permanent art piece. It was inspired by his Soundsuits and placed in the Times Square-42nd Street and 42nd Street-Bryant Park subway stations. The artwork, called Each One, Every One, Equal All (2021), has mosaic tile murals. These murals show imagined and real Soundsuits and hanging sculptures. There are also videos of the Soundsuits moving. A critic from The New York Times described the figures in the art as "joyous." He said the piece "feels like a necessary correction, right at home amid the noise and teem" of the subway.

One of these Soundsuits was chosen by musician Peter Gabriel. It represented his song "Live and Let Live" from his album i/o, released in 2023.

HEARD•NY – A Soundsuit Performance

In 2013, Nick Cave worked with dancers from the Alvin Ailey Dance Company. He used to be a dancer there himself. Together, they created HEARD•NY. This performance happened in Grand Central Terminal's Vanderbilt Hall, a very busy place in New York City. HEARD•NY was more than just a visual show. It was a deep look at ceremonies, especially West African rituals with costumes. It also explored identity and the role of dreams in city life.

A group of 30 colorful, life-size horse costumes performed. They broke into choreographed movements, or "crossings," twice a day for one week. Live music played along with them. Each horse suit was made of bright, synthetic raffia (a type of fiber). Two dancers from the Alvin Ailey Dance Company operated each suit. This project was part of celebrations for Grand Central Terminal's 100th birthday. Cave's Soundsuits are truly meant to be seen in motion.

Performances like HEARD•NY show the audience what the Soundsuits really look and sound like when they are used as intended. A Soundsuit sculpture is also part of the Colección SOLO museum. It is shown in their permanent collection and has been in temporary shows like Certeza (2023) in Madrid.

Mixed Media Art

Besides his Soundsuits, Nick Cave also creates mixed-media sculptures. These are large installations that use found objects and brightly colored fabrics. He makes art that talks about current issues, like racial tensions and gun violence, especially how it affects Black men.

One such piece is TM 13. This sculpture responds to the life and 2012 death of Trayvon Martin. After the person accused of Martin's murder was found not guilty on July 13, 2013 (which is why the art is called "TM 13"), Cave created a powerful sculpture. It features a hoodie, denim pants, a Black mannequin, and sneakers. The sculpture is covered in a net. This creates a kind of Soundsuit for the spirit of Trayvon Martin. It's a way for a young Black teenager who died unfairly to make a protest.

Cave's mixed-media sculptures often include parts of black dolls or mannequins, like heads or hands. These are placed in the center or at the top of the piece, making them look like altars. By doing this, viewers can "examine the history of trauma and racism, ... the objectification of the black male." His 2014 show Rescue explored ideas of service and the negative feelings sometimes linked to it within the Black community. Most of these works don't make sounds, like his 2016–2017 show Until at MASS MoCa. Cave wants people to be part of the art and think about their role, rather than just focusing on sound and movement. He likes the idea of people viewing his art and seeing each other at the same time.

Teaching Art

Cave preparing young artists for HEARD-NY performance

Nick Cave has taught at many universities across the United States. He started teaching at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1989. He was a professor in the Department of Fiber and Material Studies and later joined the Department of Fashion. As of 2018, he was the director of the graduate fashion program and the head of the department. He has also been a visiting teacher and artist at other places. These include Beloit College, Fabric Workshop & Museum, McColl Center for Art + Innovation, Pilchuck Glass School, University of Arizona, and University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Art Shows

Nick Cave has had many solo art shows at galleries and museums in the United States and other countries. His solo shows include New Work (1997) in Kansas City, Missouri; Nick Cave: A Quarter Til Ten (2006-2007) in Pittsburgh; Nick Cave: Meet Me at the Center of the Earth (2009-2012) which started in San Francisco; Until (2016-2021) which began in North Adams; and Nick Cave: Truth Be Told (2020-2021) which started in New York. His first big museum retrospective, Nick Cave: Forothermore, opened in 2022 at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. It then traveled to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York.

He has also been part of many group shows. These include the 51st Venice Biennale (2005) and the NGV Triennial (2017-2018).

Personal Life

Nick Cave's husband is fellow designer Bob Faust.

Notable Works in Public Collections