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Sculpture by Renowned Artist Nick Cave on View July 23

KCAI Graduate Transforms Found Objects Laden with Symbolic, Personal Meaning

Kansas City, MO. July 13, 2016–Property, a profound sculpture by Nick Cave, one of America’s foremost contemporary artists, has been acquired by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and will be on view in the museum’s Project Space beginning July 23. The sculpture, like Cave’s other celebrated works, explores issues of race, gender, oppression, identity and history. The expansive assemblage incorporates about 1,000 found objects that reference race and racism, recall African American life or hold strong personal meanings for Cave, a Missouri-born artist who attended the Kansas City Art Institute and is now recognized internationally.

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Cave seeks to transform problematic objects through reuse and new contexts. The title Property suggests slavery as well as the life cycle of things sold, used and discarded. The most prominent element of the work is a standing figure adjacent to part of a shoeshine chair, which references racial stereotypes. The figure is embellished with flowers, bottles of perfume, beads and ceramic birds, suggesting a tree of life; hope and regeneration envelope oppression. On the floor, vintage mold boxes contain objects left unaltered or modified or enhanced by the artist.

“Nick Cave’s sculptures remind us that objects carry enormous emotional and social meaning,” said Julián Zugazagoitia, Menefee D. and Mary Louise Blackwell CEO & Director of the Nelson-Atkins. “We are honored to add this powerful piece to our collection and to showcase Nick Cave’s work in the museum’s Project Space.”

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The son of a single African American mother, Cave was born in Fulton, Mo., in 1959, the youngest of seven male siblings. He created his own garments as a child, refashioning his brothers’ hand-me-downs into clothing that was as unique as it was striking. Cave attended the Kansas City Art Institute in the late 1970s and early 1980s, studying fashion and textiles in the Fiber Department. He also designed costumes and participated in performances after training in dance at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. As he developed his own sense of movement, he translated his choreographic skill into his performances.

Cave is best known for his Soundsuits, elaborate costumes that camouflage and alter the body, masking and creating a second skin that conceals race, gender and class, forcing the viewer to look without judgment. The costumes are constructed from twigs, buttons, beads, toys, sequins and other found objects. When in motion, they offer awe-inspiring color, movement and even sound.

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“Cave has said that once he is disguised by one of his Soundsuits, he is free to become something other,” said Leesa Fanning, Curator, Contemporary Art. “He has always been fascinated by the psychologically transformative experience of surrendering and creating a new being.”

Cave currently lives in Chicago and is the chair of the Department of Fashion and Design at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Image caption: Nick Cave, American (b. 1959). Property, 2014. Mixed media including found and fabricated objects: iron shoeshine chair, vintage molds, thistle seed, concrete figure, ceramic birds, perfume-bottle birds, metal flowers, and strung beads, 92 × 239 1/2 × 53 inches. Purchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust through the George H. and Elizabeth O. Davis Fund, 2014.50.1-240. Photo by James Prinz Photography. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.

Photo: James Prinz


The Nelson-Atkins in Kansas City is recognized nationally and internationally as one of America’s finest art museums. The Nelson-Atkins serves the community by providing access and insight into its renowned collection of nearly 40,000 art objects and is best known for its Asian art, European and American paintings, photography, modern sculpture, and new American Indian and Egyptian galleries. Housing a major art research library and the Ford Learning Center, the Museum is a key educational resource for the region. The institution-wide transformation of the Nelson-Atkins has included the 165,000-square-foot Bloch Building expansion and renovation of the original 1933 Nelson-Atkins Building.

The Nelson-Atkins is located at 45th and Oak Streets, Kansas City, MO. Hours are Wednesday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Thursday/Friday, 10 a.m.–9 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Admission to the museum is free to everyone. For museum information, phone 816.751.1278 or visit nelson-atkins.org/.

For media interested in receiving further information, please contact:

Kathleen Leighton, Manager, Media Relations and Video Production

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

816.751.1321

kleighton@nelson-atkins.org