Visual sensory overload in a playground of sound suits:
No time to elaborate but clearly the images can speak for themselves!!!
Now back to rehearsal to see these sculptures come to life… .
I feel as though I am waiting for a Christmas that keeps getting postponed. Although in actuality, the sound suits were never intended to be opened before Thursday, like a child mesmerized by packages in front of the tree, I am desperate to open the large boxes and over eager to inspect what lies inside.
Carefully packaged and shipped from Chicago, the sound suits are not just detained in these large brown boxes, yet in addition (though I cannot imagine why) are stored behind heavy deadbolts secured in equally steadfast doors. It is almost as though they suspect a certain overzealous inquisitor to make it her prerogative to find a way inside.
If that is the case, unfortunately, as the assailant I could not be stopped. Is this a healthy curiosity, or have I become the equivalent of an impassioned defender of animal rights, breaking into university laboratories and releasing the caged mice?
Am I justified to think the suits are ready to dance right out of the box? Feeling the vibrations of the dancers’ steps and the steady beat of the music, from behind closed doors and within secured boxes they long to be set free. It would be negligent of me to just look the other way. It would be a travesty to not just…. take a peak.
It was not hard to subtly slip away from a group of dancers so engaged in their craft, especially tonight with the added dynamic of a dj and live percussion. The true test was the restraint to allow one photograph to suffice.
Tomorrow will be the fourth rehearsal, and I am beginning to understand how this repetition induces evolution. These long hours have no substitute, for it is an unyielding matter of time which must be spent developing this dynamic, this camaraderie, and an unspoken communication between the dancers.
Bear with me, just a little bit longer, for I am certain this climax will be well deserving of the hype.
!!
Even his suggestion of composition and sudden inclination to pile a chair on his back rally for the claim that Nick Cave cannot escape abstract, three dimensional, and artistic elements from their permanent residence in his conscience.
Clearly, the form of the body can be made as much a part of sculpture as the inanimate objects it befriends. And who ever said sculptures must be statuesque? Enter sound suits. Enter cast. Enter art that is both innovative and integrative, and get ready to observe the show:
Meet the cast…. (well, a few of them at least!)
I think it is important to emphasize the significance of these dancers to the performance. I had the opportunity to speak with Nick today regarding the assemblage of the show, and he was sure to mention the important role each environment and community plays in its production. Although his sound suits and assistants are approved to travel with Cave, the rest of the pieces are left to be scavenged within the new environment. Through incorporation of local talents, settings, and materials, Cave is able to cater the performance to the specific area in which it takes place, and most notably, integrate the project with the entire community so that it serves to benefit all. He confessed that it would certainly be easier to travel with a company of dancers, trained in specific choreography and prepared to deliver a flawless performance upon arrival. However, based on the enthusiasm with which he discussed his current method, it is clear Cave has chosen the innovative and personally more fulfilling route.
Part of this decision means personally training his dancers and developing choreography in the days prior to the show. Tonight I watched as Cave instructed the performers on how to interact with one another in an encounter on the dance floor, toying between rivalry and affection, or carefully treading the line between the two. He gave direction and interacted through example, then slowly removed himself in order to observe and critique.
I watched as he watched his dancers, wishing I could see his vision and doing my best to imagine the upcoming show. His excitement is contagious, his energy infectious, and tonight I’ll likely lie awake— dreaming of sound suits.
I left my house at dawn and spent the day in transit. Two trains and two planes and I was delivered safely from New York to my old home of Savannah, Georgia, to attend the deFINE ART Festival at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Specifically, commissioned by my former school to photograph the artist Nick Cave and the preparation, as well as final presentation, of his “spoken-word, dance, DJ, music extravaganza”.
Had I not done my research, my first encounter with Cave would have been a routine introduction comprised of preliminary questions. “So, where are you from?” or “Where did you go to school?” Fortunately, I came prepared. Though I can accredit my knowledge exclusively to information obtained from a Google search, (after, of course, bypassing four or five pages devoted to the Australian heart-throb musician) I found these facts to be nonetheless enlightening in my education of the background of Cave and discovery of why, in fact, he is quite something of a heart throb himself.
Nick Cave is a Chicago based artist, performer, and designer most popularly known for his creation of sound suits. These sculptures, functioning as wearable works of art, may represent the most accurate understanding of Cave’s broad spectrum of talents as they are comprised of aspects of all media as well as facets of himself.
Therefore, regarding my first encounter, I was able to bypass the typical meet-and-greet and begin with the one question I wanted answered the most. When in fact could I try one of these suits ON?!
My eagerness to submerge in a sound suit is based on my suspicion that, encased in this vehicle, you become the instrument, you become the art, and essentially, you are comprised of all that is Nick Cave.
Therefore, I was not at all surprised to discover the unbridled excitement on the face of each performer selected for his show. While documenting their first rehearsal, I was delighted to observe such eager anticipation, (in spite of the fact that they were not even in costumes yet!)
Eager, and reciprocated, for Cave’s clever moves on the dance floor are not the extent of his admirers’ mimicry. These dancers look to their mentor and meet him with the exact same excitement and enthusiasm he exudes with every move. Eye to eye, the communication between the performers is a secret language. One that, although as a voyeur I cannot understand, I can still see the beauty of when expressed across the dance floor.
Each person in the room pirouettes across the floor, fueled by adrenaline and quenching only their thirst to perform. Exhausted from exertion, the dancers gather around Cave as they hydrate with bottles of water. I drink one as well. I feel parched just from watching, and we have a long week ahead of us in preparation for the final event.
Cave and his entourage of SCAD students and community participants will perform a special multimedia event on Saturday, November 14th, from 8-9 pm in the Hamilton Hall Parking Lot. (522 Indian Street, Savannah, GA).
Until then, check back for more pictures, audio, video, and inside information as we rehearse for the big day. And cross your fingers, maybe I’ll even get to wear a suit!!!
