Nick Cave: Truth Be Told

Artist Nick Cave and designer Bob Faust question the precarious nature of truth in our society—from governments and institutions to communities and individuals—asking where truth does and does not reside. The site-specific installation Truth Be Told takes its title from the informal conversational phrase in order to spark questions about “alternative” facts, political delusion, and assaults on objectivity. In effect, it creates both a written provocation and a simple statement on the value of personal and collective truths. The letters stretch across different planes of the Museum’s lower façade, commenting on how words can be warped and distorted by those in power.

The Brooklyn Museum presentation is the second iteration of this large-scale public artwork. It was first installed at Jack Shainman’s The School, Kinderhook, New York, in response to the police killing of George Floyd in summer 2020.

Nick Cave: Truth Be Told is presented in conjunction with the exhibition The Slipstream: Reflection, Resilience, and Resistance in the Art of Our Time, curated by Eugenie Tsai, John and Barbara Vogelstein Senior Curator, Contemporary Art, with Joseph Shaikewitz, Curatorial Assistant, Arts of the Americas and Europe, Brooklyn Museum.