March 1, 2011 - 10:10pm
Nick Cave mixes media for more collaborative artistic experience
BY DANIEL CARLIN
Editor's Note: Nick Cave was originally scheduled to speak today as part of the Penny W. Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series. His appearance was canceled as a result of travel difficulties and will be rescheduled.
Buttons, hair and sequins — oh my! Those are only a few of the many items that Nick Cave manipulates in order to produce his designs that collide fashion design, sculpture and art.
Cave’s interdisciplinary art is fueled by his choice to simultaneously educate himself in various mediums. The Missouri native began learning about needlework as he attended the Kansas City Art Institute. At the same time, he began to study dance, eventually becoming an Alvin Ailey-trained dancer.
After receiving his master’s from Michigan’s Cranbrook Academy of Art, Cave obtained a teaching position at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he's now the director of the graduate fashion program.
Though it can be difficult to define and categorize Cave’s artwork, his first and most recognizable collection, “Soundsuit,” premiered at the Holter Museum of Art in Helena, Mont. The pieces are almost costume-like in appearance, with African ceremonial influences in the garments. These suits are created with unexpected materials — for example, Cave’s first Soundsuit was developed from twigs.
Cave is constantly redesigning and imagining looks and items – partially in hope to expand the idea of what is considered to be wearable.
“We are working on a new series of sculptural forms all made of pipe-leaners,” Cave said, in an interview with Daily. "We just finished working on a series of sculptural forms made of twig. We are always rotating incubators.”
While the actual garments – some invested with feathers, sisal and beads – are without a doubt works of art, Cave’s presentation is also innovative. The suits are presented in galleries as not only fixed sculptures, but also through performance, photographs and video. He constantly thinks about a piece’s ability to be viewed through different perspectives.
“I think of my work in terms of options – like what other possibilities, what other areas does my work have potential of existing in?” Cave said. “What other sort of fields? What other sort of territories? If I remove myself and hand it off to someone, what other road will it put me in as a director?”
Cave’s intriguing view of art as well as his ability to combine art mediums has put him in high demand in different industries. His avant-garde costume pieces led to a feature in last September’s issue of Vogue. More recently, Cave collaborated with fashion company Duckie Brown to create six pieces for their Fall 2011 collection. When he isn’t traveling the world, Cave can be found experimenting with new objects and fabrics alongside a 15-person team in his Chicago studio.
Chrisstina Hamilton, director of the Penny Stamps lecture series, noted that global interest in Cave’s work has spread to the University as many requests had been made by both students and faculty to have Cave speak over the last couple of years. In fact, Cave’s incorporation in some of the curriculum on campus has furthered his appeal even more.
Cave’s not only informs people about the exterior and aesthetic angle of his pieces, but what it means and feels like to be in them.
“It is not just about the craft and the making of the costumes, but also the act of wearing and living in it,” Hamilton said.
