Soundsuits

Before I start with Mr.Cave and his other-worldly soundsuits, I wanted to apologize for the ongoing bits of blog maintenance. If you are one of our readers, I’m sure you have noticed that we have changed the Hi.Lite appearance a bit and this is because we are currently working on an expansion project. With that said, we will still continue to blog, so please bear with us through our renovation process!

So who is Nick Cave? He is an artist who combines elements of sound, performance, color, and costume to create works that even the darkest soul would find hard to resist. Born in Missouri, Nick Cave showed an early talent for performance before moving to New York City to dance with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. Cave’s genre-expanding work straddles both dance and visual art to explore the ways that African identity is subsumed into disparate cultural codes. He has also built a notable reputation as an educator as the chair of the fashion graduate program at the prestigious Art Institute of Chicago.

So what are soundsuits: They are wearable fabric sculptures that are bright, whimsical, and above all visionary.

Cave’s first Soundsuit was made of twigs. Other typical materials include the most unconventional materials, such as dyed human hair, sisal, plastic buttons, beads, sequins, and feathers. The finished pieces bear some resemblance to African ceremonial costumes and masks. His suits are presented for public viewing as static sculptures, but also through live performance, video, and photographs.

Take a look at some of his amazing work:

 

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