Nick Cave's Meet Me at the Center of the Earth @ YBCA

June 8, 9:35 PMSF Art ExaminerMarisa Nakasone

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A long overdue plea for you all to check out Meet Me at the Center of the Earth--though I imagine most of you have already done so!

Nick Cave. Photo by James Prinz.

Nick Cave's ornate, monumental, and painstakingly detailed wearable sculptues evoke movement and sound even as they stand in silent repose in YBCA's expansive first-floor gallery.  Using a variety of materials, many of which seem to be salvaged from pre-existing goods such as wool sweaters, buttons, sequined material, bright knits, wigs, plastic knicknacks, and decorative birds and feathers, Cave fashions large, sculptural costumes that transform the wearer into a creature of the imagination. The found, re-purposed nature of his work inscribe within its construction the identities of the individuals who once wore or used the objects that have been assembled into a work of art.

Nick Cave

Nick Cave. Photo by James Prinz.

Cave's attention to detail, remarkable craftsmanship and the large size of each piece lend his work devotional undertones--evoking the abstract and unearthly forms of dieties and supernatural beings.Furthermore, the implied kineticism and sound of each piece suggest ritual movement.

Indeed, Cave's work in this exhibtion are called soundsuits for the sounds and movements that wearing the costume create. Engaging the senses through texture, color, and pattern, one imagines his hair like swishing around with the wearer's motions, or the succession of clicking sounds made by his button encrusted suit, or the wavering-balancing act-like motion of costumes topped with elaborate head pieces.

Nick Cave. Photo by James Prinz.

Meet me at the Center of the Earth also features taped performances of Nick Cave's Soundsuits.  A different video projected on each wall of the gallery, some of which show Cave dancing in/or as one of his sculptures or manipulating the elements used to make his elaborate pieces (buttons, beads etc.), viewers can experience Cave's work as it was intended--immersive and engaging all senses.

Nick Cave. Image by James Prinz.

Nick Cave is an associate professor and chairman of the Fashion Department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He earned his MFA at Cranbrook Academy of Art and has since won numerous accolades, including the National Endowment for the Arts, United States Artist Award, and the Creative Capital Grant. 

Nick Cave Meet Me at the Center of the Earth will be on view at YBCA through July 5, 2009.