He's also African American, which could account for the bold forms and rich, variegated surfaces of his sculptures, qualities common in African and African American folk art. In fact, one might initially mistake some of them, especially those profusely covered with buttons, for the latter.
Yet the imaginative variety of these fiber sculptures, and especially their meticulous craftsmanship, sets them apart from the creations of self-taught naifs. (Cave, born in 1959, graduated from two prestigious art academies, Kansas City Art Institute and Cranbrook Academy of Art.)
When you factor in the potential for performance, realized in two videos that are part of the show, you arrive at an art form that combines powerful visual expression with the emotion and infectious energy of dance theater.
The soundsuits are displayed on mannequins, but with all but four only the legs show, reminiscent of the dancing cigarette packages in old television commercials. They're imposing too, ranging in height from about seven to more than nine feet.
One could imagine the suits as totemic ceremonial costumes, except that there doesn't seem to be any way to see out of them. The ceremony in this case is lighthearted and life-affirming; one suit is made of stuffed toys, another of small throw rugs.
Four suits are more conventionally figurative. Covered with long platinum-blond hair, they resemble friendly yetis. The performers in the video Drive By, projected in the gallery where the suits are displayed, also wear hairy, multicolored costumes that flop and flow like waves as they roll and tumble across the floor.
