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Nick Cave, Soundsuit, 2009, mixed media, 96 x 26 x 20 in. (243.8 x 66.0 x 50.8 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the James Renwick Alliance and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2012.34A-B, © 2009, Nick Cave. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. Photo by James Prinz Photography
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Artwork Details
- Title
- Soundsuit
- Artist
- Date
- 2009
- Location
- Dimensions
- 96 x 26 x 20 in. (243.8 x 66.0 x 50.8 cm)
- Copyright
- © 2009, Nick Cave. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. Photo by James Prinz Photography
- Credit Line
- Gift of the James Renwick Alliance and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment
- Mediums Description
- mixed media
- Classifications
- Highlights
- Object Number
- 2012.34A-B
Artwork Description
He created his first suit in response to the beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers in 1991. He imagined his extravagant costume-sculptures to be protective shields that masked a person's identity and scrambled notions of race, class, and gender.
This suit is composed of doilies that he collected from thrift stores, while other suits in the series incorporate discarded toys, hair, and buttons. In giving these objects new life, he asks, "How do we . . . look at things that are devalued, discarded, and bring a different kind of relevancy to them?"