What can you use to make art?
Buttons? Check.
Sequins? Check.
Old sweaters, crocheted doilies, antique toys? Check, check and check.
Kids are going to love the wild and crazy, 10- to 14-foot figures artist Nick Cave has expertly crafted out of thrift store finds and synthetic fur dyed in DayGlo colors. He calls them "SoundSuits" because when a person wears them, they make rustling, clanging, scratching sounds. Since they're standing still in the exhibit, children may be disappointed that they make no noise. But confronted with a room full of these colorful original creations, all we can say is, "Wow."
The exhibit is titled "Meet Me at the Center of the Earth" because Cave says it's meant to transport the viewer through imagination to unknown frontiers – as is true in Jules Verne's novel with the same title.
We first encounter a tall, lumbering saggy-butted bear made entirely of bright sweaters, the only piece that can't be worn. Next to him (her?) is a slim figure crafted of lace and sequins with a "face" made from a vintage burial wreath Cave found in Paris. She (him?) is guarding a burial mound made of a hundred or so tubes of knitted and crocheted yarn. They share the platform with tall, cylindrical figures covered in neon-colored fur wearing bright socks. Cave says their shape was inspired by missiles or condoms – a fact you may or may not want to share with your children.
The most mind-boggling display is in the second gallery where about 20 figures, all completely different, stand on a stark white platform as though on a runway. You can see why Cave calls these SoundSuits a melding of Mardi Gras costume, African masquerade and high fashion. One figure is made entirely of sewn-together doilies with its head encircled with spinning tops – evoking a mind that cannot sit still? Another is made of knitted hats and bags, and a third is formed of braided rugs. See if your children can find the tiger's face on one of the figures. Why is its face caged in with crossed chains of beads and ceramic birds? (Someone engulfed in what he most wants but can't quite reach, the show's curator suggests.)
In the midst of another platform of fake fur suits in eye-popping colors is a figure made of lumpy leggings with a bright copper-wire head festooned with human hair. Cave and the show's curator, Pamela McClusky, say the pieces ask the viewer, "What happens when you are at a masquerade event and no one can see your full face? What happens when you're disguised so much that no one knows your race or sex?"
After going through a video room where we can watch dancers whirling in the SoundSuits, we are introduced to new works not yet seen anywhere else – a figure made with a big Raggedy Ann doll hooked rug, one made entirely of stuffed animals and beanie babies, and three made of twigs with a basket representing the gaping mouth. If you have very sensitive children, they might find these twig figures scary, as well a row of four hump-shouldered astronauts (?) or aliens (?) covered with white and silver-toned buttons. The two pieces in the last room, one made of pipe cleaners and gum wrapper chains and the other of crocheted fabric, return to the mood of pure joy.
Cave told me he was always into art and dance, but didn't make collages or found-object sculptures as a child. As one of seven brothers, he was more interested in playing and sports. He made his first Soundsuit out of twigs in 1992 after the Rodney King beatings in Los Angeles. He felt scared by the thought of six policemen bringing down a lone black male, and thought of the loudly crackling suit as a kind of disguise and form of protest.
Still, he thinks making art out of recycled materials is a great idea for children.
On a rainy day, why not give your kids $10 to go through a thrift or dime store and collect odd things to make their own figures or collages? At the museum's Chase Open Studio, kids can contribute to a collective creation in progress by adding recycled materials to a "sculpture."
Have fun? Make art? Check.
IF YOU GO
Where: Seattle Art Museum, 1300 First Ave., downtown Seattle.
When: Through June 5. Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Cost: $9-$15; children 12 and younger free. Free for everyone the first Thursday of the month; free for teens the second Friday evening of the month (5 to 9 p.m.).
Family Events: “Family Fun Workshop: Plushies” – take a whirlwind kids’ tour of the exhibit and make your own plushy puppet, Saturday, March 26, 10 a.m. to noon, at the museum; free with adult admission, register at www.seattleartmuseum.org/kids. “Earth Day for Kids” with live performances inspired by Nick Cave, Saturday, April 16, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Olympic Sculpture Park, 2901 Western Ave., Seattle waterfront; free.
Teen Events: “Teen Workshops: Tracking the Suits” – design soundtracks to riff off Cave’s Soundsuits, Saturday, April 30, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at the museum; free, register at www.seattleartmuseum.org/teens. “ART ATTACK: Teens Night Out” with live music, tours, local artists in the galleries and a chance to explore collage-making, stencils and mixed media sculptures, Friday, May 13, 7 to 11 p.m.; free.
Contact: 206-654-3100; www.seattleartmuseum.org.
Wenda Reed is a Seattle-area writer and art lover.
