Nick Cave - by Sarah Newman & Cherise Smith & Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw & J Drew Lanham (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A lavishly illustrated catalogue that features an eclectic mix of poetic, narrative, and scholarly perspectives on Nick Cave's Mammoth.

Nick Cave--born 1959 in Fulton, Missouri, and now active in Chicago, Illinois--is an artist who defies categorization. Working between sculpture, installation, performance, video and fashion, and best known for the exuberant Soundsuits that he originally created in response to racialized police violence, Cave has long been interested in the intersections of history and identity. Like the landmark exhibition it accompanies, this catalogue is a creative excavation of shared and personal memory. The mammoth represents hidden stories waiting to be uncovered and rediscovered. Cave's bronze sculptures, beaded wall hangings, video and found-object assemblages, tell stories of identity, environmental crisis, societal inequality, and institutional history.

The book also features a sketchbook-style exploration of Cave's studio and mind, including in-process photography, artist sketches, and handwritten notes. This wide-ranging publication represents a significant contribution to scholarship on the artist, and will be a lasting resource for artists, art historians, and general readers.

About the Author

Sarah Newman is James Dicke Curator of Contemporary Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Cherise Smith is professor of African and African Diaspora Studies and Art History, University of Texas, Austin.

Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw is associate professor, History of Art, University of Pennsylvania.

J. Drew Lanham is professor, Wildlife Ecology, Clemson University, and 2022 MacArthur Fellow.