K I D S PA C E
KALEIDOSCOPIC PLAYGROUND
HERE COMES THE SUN
NICK FEDERICO CAVE URIBE
FEDERICO URIBE HERE COMES THE SUN NICK CAVE KALEIDOSCOPIC PLAYGROUND A COLLABORATIVE DESIGN PROJECT WITH BOB FAUST
Here Comes the Sun features Federico Uribe’s magical, sculptural menagerie of animals crafted out of a variety of materials such as leather bags, bullets, shoelaces, and colored pencils. Nick Cave wraps the Kidspace ArtBar with highly patterned wallpaper, designed in collaboration with Bob Faust, to create a Kaleidoscopic Playground. Both artists shape-shift feelings of sorrow, rage, and despair into positive, immersive environments, with Kidspace becoming a vehicle for dialogue and exploration about the role of joy and optimism.
Optimism might not be the first quality to come to mind when viewing the materials that Federico Uribe repurposes for his animal sculptures. Colorful shotgun casings and golden bullets of varying caliber are brought together to form a lion, leather sneakers are arranged into a leaping puma, and an army helmet becomes a turtle’s shell. In an interview, Uribe underlines the irony inherent in his choice of materials: “People kill animals to make shoes, I make animals out of shoes.” One might then think that Uribe intends to make viewers alert to the senseless killing of animals. But instead, Uribe aims to use ordinary—and sometimes provocative—materials to challenge associations; the goal is to go against the grain—or, as he says, to “make people happy”—in spite of preconceived connotations. Nick Cave is best known for his Soundsuits, sculptures and performance objects made of materials such as twigs, beads, raffia, feathers, and buttons, which both reference and mask the human body. Cave’s art functions as a pointed commentary on issues of race, gender, and inequality, while, at the same time, his playful, brightly colored works offer the antidote of hope. In making his work, Cave relies on what he calls “creative positivity”— a tool for responding optimistically to life’s struggles. In October 2016 Cave will transform MASS MoCA’s Building 5 gallery with the exhibition Until. In advance of this, the artist gave us a preview of his work by transforming the Kidspace ArtBar with Kaleidoscopic Playground. Cave created an immersive wallpaper featuring patterns of repeated Soundsuit-inspired graphics along with mirrored figures that carry prompts to inspire visitors to think about how they see themselves and others around them. Here Comes the Sun and Kaleidoscopic Playground make up the second component of Kidspace’s Art 4 Change, a four-year project that explores three preconditions to problem-solving: empathy, optimism, and courage. The guiding principle for these exhibition projects is Albert Einstein’s statement that “[we] cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” In other words, without hope and courage, societal problems can seem overwhelming. In an era that is all too often full of cynicism, an experience with Uribe and Cave’s work provides the opportunity to strengthen our sense of optimism, tolerance, and kindness.
Federico Uribe Born in Bogotá, Colombia, in 1962, Federico Uribe currently lives and works in Miami. He studied art at the University of Los Andes in Bogotá and, in 1988, he traveled to New York to pursue an MFA degree under the supervision of Luis Camnitzer at SUNY Old Westbury. After receiving his degree, he left New York to study and work in Cuba, Mexico, Russia, England, and finally Miami. His work has been exhibited at art institutions such as the Chelsea Art Museum, New York, and the Art Museum of the Americas, Washington, DC. He is represented by Adelson Galleries.
Nick Cave Born in Missouri in 1959, Nick Cave studied at the Kansas City Art Institute and the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan, and trained with the renowned Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. His solo work has been exhibited at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston; the Denver Art Museum; and the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA. Cave’s work is included in public collections at the Brooklyn Museum; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art; the High Museum; the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; and the Smithsonian Institution. Cave teaches at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and is represented by Jack Shainman Gallery, NY.
Nick Cave: Until on view beginning October 16, 2016 With Until, Nick Cave transforms MASS MoCA’s signature football field-sized space with his largest installation to date. Not a single Soundsuit will be found; instead Cave will create an immersive installation made up of thousands of found objects and millions of beads, which will make viewers feel like they have stepped directly inside one of his iconic sculptures. For Until — a double play on the phrase “innocent until proven guilty” or, in this case, perhaps “guilty until proven innocent”— Cave addresses issues of gun violence and race relations in America today. Cave believes in humanity, celebrating possibility while also creating a forum for sharp debate and critical discussion.
Federico Uribe, Flower XII, 2015, colored pencils, courtesy of the artist and Adelson Galleries Boston
Nick Cave, Soundsuit, 2010, mixed media including stuffed animals, bean bags, fabric, metal and mannequin, courtesy of the artist
PLANT SEEDS OF JOY: Do together at home • Step outside and smell the air. Breathe in and out three times. How does the fresh air make you feel? • Smile as if posing for a photograph. See how long you can hold your smile before your face starts to ache or you start giggling. • Find five objects you would have otherwise thrown away and use them to make a sculpture of something that makes you happy. • Send a hand-written note of appreciation to someone who you love or haven’t talked to in a while. • Take the “happiness is” challenge. For the next 10 nights share with someone something good that happened to you during the day, and also something good that you did for someone else. • Think about a cause you care about and find one way to contribute. What if you made drawings with positive messages for someone in need, or picked up trash together on the street to help clean the earth?
Federico Uribe, Tree and Bird, 2015, books, courtesy of the artist and Adelson Galleries Boston
Kidspace is MASS MoCA’s child-centered art gallery and hands-on studio (ArtBar) presenting exhibitions and educational experiences in collaboration with leading artists. The ArtBar is available during the school year on weekends and during school breaks, and is open every day over the summer.
Core education funding is provided by the WLS Spencer Foundation. Education at MASS MoCA is made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Additional support is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, The Hearst Foundation, Milton and Dorothy Sarnoff Raymond Foundation, Amelia Peabody Foundation, Holly Swett, Feigenbaum Foundation, John Hancock, Massachusetts Cultural Council, C & P Buttenwieser Foundation, TD Charitable Foundation, Berkshire Bank, Price Chopper’s Golub Foundation, the Gateway Fund and the William and Margery Barrett Fund of the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, and an anonymous donor. Support for Here Comes The Sun is provided in part by the Adelson Galleries. The Milton and Dorothy Sarnoff Raymond Foundation gives in memory of Sandy and Lynn Laitman. Cover: Federico Uribe, On Good Faith, 2015, courtesy of the artist and Adelson Galleries Boston.
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