Found Materials, Fantastic Art: Nick Cave's Soundsuits at Seattle Art Museum

This week is your last chance to the Nick Cave exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum (ends June 5th). His soundsuits are wearable art pieces that are colorful and composed in large part of reclaimed and found materials. The bottom part of the soundsuit on the far right is a collection of crocheted pot holders stitched together and the top is made of tops.


The soundsuits were conceived by Nick Cave as a way to insulate one's self from prejudice while distinguishing one's self from the culture that sustains that prejudice. His meticulous arrangement of familiar elements into something fantastical is fascinating to see and the use of reclaimed materials is a central part of his ethos as an artist. 

Reusing cast-aside materials, Nick Cave's art combines them in ways that make us realize the volume and variety of those materials.  BP