Artist hopes his works spark conversations
COMMENTARY time at the flea markets and antiques malls,” he said. “It’s really about these magnificent items that are out there.”
Nostalgia plays a factor, too.
An Easter Bunny adorns the top of one of Cave’s “soundsuits.” When he found the rabbit, “it was an oh-my-God moment,” Cave said. “It brought me back to my childhood … Easter Sunday morning with my brothers.”
Cave, 59, grew up as one of seven brothers. He has a bachelor of fine arts degree from the Kansas City Art Institute and a master’s from the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan. In addition to his prowess in the visual arts, he also trained as a dancer with Alvin Ailey.
His creative work is often impromptu.
“It’s all based on impulse,” he said. “It’s really in the moment. I just sort of do it when it hits.”
But social unrest and injustice often provide the impetus to create a work to “open the conversation” on current issues.
“It was Rodney King, it was Trayvon Martin, it was Michael Brown, it was Freddie Gray … it’s call and response,” Cave said. “I have created art in response to all of these incidents.”
Like King, the others were black men subjected to extreme violence – Brown was killed by a police officer in a St. Louis suburb; Gray died while in police custody in Baltimore; and Martin was shot to death by George Zimmerman in Sanford.
“I think the work itself has always been rooted in purpose,” Cave said. “And purpose is connected to a larger responsibility. … At the end of the day, this is what makes me happy.”