Nick Cave

Link to Nick Cave Via the SAIC

My role as an educator is to: • Believe in the individual as well as the whole • Establish discipline and facilitate focus • Create innovative concepts and provocative projects • Generate a productive and stimulating environment • Encourage non-traditional practices • Emphasize the importance of research and experimentation • Nurture strong design • Help students establish responsibility and bring clarity to their work • Establish community and departmental camaraderie During my career I have had the privilege to work and study with some of the best artists and teachers working today. As a result of this exposure I have been blessed with a solid and well-rounded foundation for my role as artist and educator. My goal is to imbue the tenets of this foundation with the fashion students and others that I encounter as a professor/artist at The School of the Art Institute. My goal is to instill strong work ethics, encourage creative thinking, and encourage discipline all within a context where they are respected, challenged, and mentored. Specifically, my aim is to create an environment and present assignments that embrace innovative concepts and thought-provoking projects. This direction and guidance is integral to assisting them develop a competitive edge as well as a sense of community and camaraderie. The value of history and theory and how they relate to fine arts is also central to my teaching – encouraging research and experimentation will enable the students to develop effective solutions during their individual artistic development. Introducing students to non-traditional practices (what are they?) will also foster interdisciplinary exchanges. Ultimately, I would personally find great satisfaction knowing that the students have taken what they have learned in my classes as well as the total SAIC environment and begun to engage in a dialogue of their own about the role of art, fashion, and design and its relevance and meaning in our complex world.
Personal statement	My work, clothing and fiber-based sculptures, collages, installations, and performances, explore the use of textiles and clothing as conceptual modes of expression and pose fundamental questions about the human condition in the social and political realm. The Chicago Cultural Center Foundation presented Nick Cave: Soundsuits, a retrospective that included video and live presentations of my signature soundsuits in performance works. I have an upcoming solo show at Jack Shainman, in New York. I am also staging the largest scale production of my work in collaboration with choreographer Ronald K. Brown, at the Yerba Center for the Arts in San Francisco. I believe that what happens in my studio and living the life as an artist are the single most important things I bring to the classroom. Artists must design their own pathways, work through plateaus in their work and understand that they will find themselves humbled by the very process of art-making. I encourage my students to build their work with conviction, come face-to-face with the truth of what they are attempting to create, and to be open to experimentation. I have been lucky to have been mentored by talented artists who taught me to challenge myself and build a level of confidence and trust in my creative judgment. In turn, I hope to provide my students with the knowledge that their art making holds the possibility for acting as a vehicle for change on a larger, global scale.
Current Interests	African ceremonial costumes and mask are obvious points of reference. Many of my soundsuits and accessories recall the African positing of spiritual power in objects. My ability to make to make objects come alive is also a testament to my ability to have things resonate with their past history and usages alongside my personal though usually opaque meanings. I want my work to open up vistas to many cultures (including our own), explores a wide range of materials and formal approached, and looks inwardly as it examines personal and cultural identity in relation to the world. My only concern around my work is making sure that my art continues to reach a broader community. My goal is to imbue the tenets of my artwork with the global world. I want to continue to use my artwork as a foundation to help others reach their endeavors by offering opportunities and experiences through a trans-interdisciplinary collaboration. The value of history and theory and how they relate to fine art is very central to my process. Research and exploration has enabled me to establish a non-traditional practice and a visual language I can call my own. I aim to create art that embrace innovation and is thought provoking. I personally am “Working toward what I am leaving behind.” My mission is; “I MATTER.”