A few months ago, artist Nick Cave caused a stir of excitement when he returned to his native Detroit to photograph a series of dramatic art installations.Now, his fans will finally be able to see the results of that effort when his exhibition “Nick Cave: Here Hear” opens at Cranbrook Art Museum this weekend.Cave, a noted sculptor and performance artist, graduated from Cranbrook Art Academy in 1989. In March, he returned to his alma mater to start his photo tour of metro Detroit, which included stops in the Brightmoor neighborhood, Mexicantown and Eastern Market, along with nine other places.
Supported by a stack of storage boxes in Shed 5 of Detroit’s Eastern Market one humid morning, the artist Nick Cave steps gingerly into a suit of clipped twigs, one leg at a time. Crouching at his feet, two assistants adjust the jagged hem of each trouser leg while Bob Faust, Cave’s studio director and right-hand man, lifts the waist and draws the suspenders tightly across his chest. Struggling to co-ordinate their movements, the team of three hauls the garment’s top half — a towering assemblage of sticks weighing more than 50lb — above Cave’s head, lowering it over his face and settling it on his shoulders. Faust takes his hand and leads him outside; like a splintery Chewbacca, Cave lumbers blindly through rows of poppies to a small grove of potted pines, the suit’s improbable wooden surface clacking as he moves.
Ahead of the opening, the artist posted a trippy preview video on YouTube, showing his Soundsuits dancing -- and standing still -- at various iconic spots around Detroit. The video features some high-energy movement, as well as eerie shots near urban decay.
Nick Cave is taking over Detroit. Next Saturday, June 20, will see the debut of Here Hear, the largest show of the American artist’s work to date, at the Cranbook Art Museum. The weekend will kick off a string of events that runs through the rest of the year. Among the Cave-planned celebrations are a performance called Up Right: Detroit and a series of Dance Labs, both in July; and a procession of dozens of Cave’s life-size horse sculptures traipsing through the city on September 26 (manned by high-school dancers, no less). All this will then culminate with a project called Figure This: Detroit, which will take place in the city’s magisterial Masonic Temple on October 4.
A new exhibition at the Cranbrook Art Museum, Detroit, casts light on the creative world of American sculptor, dancer and performance artist Nick Cave. The 7,000 square-foot solo exhibition features a large selection of Cave’s famous “Soundsuits”, a series of African-inspired colorful sculptures that merge art, fashion and sound. Standing somewhere between performative sculptures and ritual costumes, Cave’s Soundsuits are conceived as an emotional shield that protects one’s race or gender, while still allowing him to express his individuality. The exhibition, which is titled “Here Hear”, will also include newly commissioned artworks, a site-specific wall-based tapestry inspired by the artist’s childhood memories of contemplating the night sky, a series of video works and a selection of his recent sculptures.
As buzz about Detroit becoming one of the centers of contemporary art production in the United States heightens, so does focus on its exhibitions. This may explain why rather than staging a quiet show this summer, the Cranbrook Art Museum, located in a suburb of Detroit, is making a bold statement with "Here Hear," a solo exhibition by Nick Cave. It includes programming not only at the museum itself, but also happenings throughout the city. Best known for his Soundsuits, which are wearable sculptures made out of colorful, often flamboyant materials such as feathers, knit flowers and sequins, Cave also creates a wide variety of videos and static works. Trained as dancer at Alvin Ailey, he is deliciously aware of how the body moves -- and how it can be transformed to a vessel in which a person contained can be set free. "Up Right: Detroit," for example, will be an ongoing performance staged in collaboration with the Ruth Ellis Center, a nonprofit working with LGBTQ youth and young adults in Metro Detroit. And "Heard•Detroit," held on September 26, will feature 60 high-school dancers clad in life-size horse costumes, parading down the Detroit riverfront. If you've been looking for an excuse to visit Detroit, here's your opportunity.
Nick Cave's interview on Michigan Radio's Stateside with Cynthia Canty.
“As an art student,” says artist Nick Cave, “Detroit played a major role in my creative development.” He attended the Cranbrook Academy of Art on the outskirts of that city — graduating in 1989. While there, he took full advantage of the city’s incredible cultural heritage — from Berry Gordy’s Motown sound as well to burgeoning underground house music scene left a lasting impression. Now Cave, who is best known for his elaborately decorated, vibrantly colored “Soundsuits” and public happenings that incorporate rhythmic music and dancing, is returning to Detroit to stage "Here Hear," a seven-month-long series of performances, exhibitions, and “invasions.”
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Tagged: Harry Bertoia
Read MoreNow through the fall, Detroit will become the backdrop for artist Nick Cave’s most ambitious project to date, including seven months of events and his first solo exhibition at Cranbrook Art Museum, all funded by the Knight Arts Challenge. Here Cranbrook Curator Laura Mott writes about Cave’s first stop in the city, where he traveled around the city in his signature embellished costumes known as Soundsuits.
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