"Spotlight on Nick Cave" by Laura Payne

from the February 2010 issue of KC Stage

If you google “Nick Cave soundsuits” you will find links to videos of people dancing wildly in body encasing wearable art. Each participant moves in their own slightly different way, but with undeniable passion and with a drive to use these soundsuits to their full potential. Made of everything from twigs to human hair, they are living breathing sculptures, the brain child of artist Nick Cave. The performances are at once beautiful, funny, entertaining and thought provoking, and while their creator is a trained artist, they possess everything one could look for in a theatrical production. Perhaps it is appropriate then that the artist himself seems to live life as a one man show, where all of the world is his stage and his audience is growing each and every day.

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Most interviews start with a basic opening question, something to get the ball rolling and open a dialogue. With Nick Cave, the interview begins the second he walks in the room. It is often said that great artists see the world differently, that they are able to find the exceptional in the mundane or every day. Cave is the walking definition of an artist and his work reflects his ability to put the focus on what is possible with passion, practice and creativity. Cave wants to make people think, to make them question what they see around them and to use any means available to create a world of open minds and open dialogues.
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 Born and raised in central Missouri by a single mother, this extravagant and theatrical man was fortunate enough to have a family that nurtured and encouraged the joy he found in art. A graduate of the Kansas City Art Institute, Cave found that to effectively communicate his visions meant that he couldn’t define himself by one specific medium. “I made a commitment to really invest in the research around material and the history of various disciplines,” Cave explains. “I never was an artist that was locked into one particular medium. It’s about finding the means necessary to express the ideas.” It is unsurprising that Cave took his degree in fiber from KCAI and built upon it with a master’s degree from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan, years of study through the Alvin Ailey dance program, and a job teaching at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where he is now the director of the graduate fashion program. Cave took these years of study and the opportunity to teach and be around young and creative minds and came up with the concept that would put his name into the art, dance, theatre and design communities.

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Cave created his first soundsuit in the early 1990’s, the first of hundreds that would come to life in the coming years. Adding the human element made them soar, and they became art that could communicate from a pedestal or a choreographed stage routine. Despite the intense focus and meticulous construction it takes to create the soundsuits, Cave is surprisingly willing to relinquish control when it comes to the soundsuit performances. Whether it is an ambush style street presentation or a choreographed production, he is happy to step back and let the art speak for itself. Ultimately, the goal is to reach out and allow the audience to have a reaction and Cave is confident that each dancer will only add to the experience. “The soundsuit can take care of itself as an object,” Cave said. “You can walk out on the stage and just project and that could be as big as the world.” Add in the element of dance, everything from traditional African movements to wild and unplanned gyrations, and you have more than an exhibit or a way to showcase the pieces; you have a conversation, and it is one Cave hopes will continue whether people understand it or not. “It allows you to flounder in your thoughts of what you thought it was meant to be,” Cave enthused.

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Performing at the Kansas City Art Institute’s 125th Anniversary Gala on February 20, 2010, Cave is excited to showcase multiple soundsuits with over 20 local dancers and performers. It is not only an opportunity to bring his art and showmanship to a new audience, but a chance to visit his roots in the Midwest and his alma mater. “I am excited just being able to bring it to different mindsets and a different group of people,” said Cave. “It is about community based work and what can happen.”
Ultimately, Cave knows that this is just one step in his career and he will one day move on to his next venture, a world of new visions and innovative creations. Until then he is looking forward to broadening the minds of those who are willing to stop, watch, think and maybe even dance a little themselves.

Kansas City Art Institute Gala
(816) 802-3483, www.kcai.edu/gala.