“The soundsuits hide gender, race, class and they force you to look at the work without judgment.”
– Nick Cave
By Rushil Pradhan, 18 April, 2020
Using three artistic mediums of sculpture, installation and performance to propagate the meaning of art, dance and fashion into one immersive experience.
Nick Cave, an American fabric sculptor, dancer, and performance artist created his iconic Soundsuits series in an attempt to release his trauma and depression linked with the Los Angeles riots of 1992.
The series can be best described as a wild blend of color accompanied with distinctive rustling sounds and texture which can be put on creating a second skin that hides race, gender and class of the artist who is wearing and performing, while allowing the viewer to look past the preconceived notions and appreciate and celebrate the meaning of art.
Or it can be displayed as motionless objects within the white walls of a museum. Like the one in The Museum of Modern Art or Denver Art Museum.
Cave is represented by Jack Shainman Gallery and has produced more than 500 soundsuits till now with many performances in new york and around the globe.
Although its main objective is to reduces the discrimination and glorify the art but soundsuits are open to different interpretations too, For example, Kate Eilertsen, a former curator at Yerba Buena, identified sculptures of Soundsuits as “traditional crafts forms like macramé and crocheting.”
The meaning of these artwork also depends on the environment in which they sit in, or the state (fixed or motion),
Soundsuits convey the idea of cave’s identity as a black male and the issues that he and other artist’s still faces due to society’s discrimination. This collection is an escape from all those indifferences one can have and celebreats art to its best. Although they are bizarre and creepy looking yet it brings together and reunites people with art.
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