Nick Cave

While Nick Cave was finishing up his graduate degree at Kansas City Art Institute, he was also studying dance through an Alvin Ailey program in both Kansas City and in New York. Today, the performance artist, fabric sculptor, and dancer is best known for his elaborate, transformative “soundsuits.” When worn, these otherworldly garments give the wearer shaman-like characteristics as they completely overwhelm conventional human physiology. Cave’s constructs these works from unlikely found material such as twigs, bottle caps, and wires. These soundsuits enable Cave to bring about an interactive aspect to his work; that is, the garments produce sound when dancers perform in them.