Works of Bruce Nauman

1. BRUCE NAUMAN
BY VEDANT N. SANSARE (1604101)
“If I was an artist and I was in the studio, then everything I was doing in the
studio should be art.”

2. • Sculptor, Photographer, Video & Neon Artist as well as a Performer
• Lives in Galisteo, New Mexico
• Language, psyche, and body
• Big, bold and brash
• Challenging the norms
• Realization of ‘own’ physicality.
• Art as a research endeavor
OVERVIEW

3. • Born on December 6, 1941
• Grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana
• Studied
• Physics and Mathematics at the University of Wisconsin (1960-64)
• Art with at the University of California (1965-65)
CHILDHOOD AND EDUCATION

4. WORKS

5. THE TRUE ARTIST HELPS THE WORLD BY
REVEALING MYSTIC TRUTHS (1967)
• Process over product
• Purpose
• Role of the artist in the society.
• Medium
• Neon Art

6. RUN FROM FEAR, FUN FROM REAR (1972)
• Amused & embarrassed
• Purpose
• Language; wordplay.
• Medium
• Neon Art

7. CAROUSEL(1988)
• Unease & discomfort
• Purpose
• Animal Cruelty and torture
• Medium
• Sculpture

8. SOUTH AMERICAN TRIANGLE (1981)
• Unease
• Purpose
• Totalitarian regimes in
South America
• Medium
• Sculpture

9. GREEN LIGHT CORRIDOR(1970)
• Claustrophobic
• Purpose
• Realization of ‘own’ physicality
• Medium
• Performance

10. CLOWN TORTURE (1987)
• Angst and discomfort
• Purpose
• Break the illusion of art.
• Medium
• Video Art

11. CONCLUSION
• Nauman’s work
• Forced difference.
• Brings forward the ignored issues.
• Indirect
• Satirical

12. REFERENCES
• Pinar. "Incredible Bronze Hand Sculptures by Bruce Nauman." My Modern Met. Mymodernmet, 2 Sept.
2013. Web. <http://mymodernmet.com/bruce-nauman-fifteen-pairs-of-hands/>.
• Gagosian New York. "Bruce Nauman - 2015 - Gagosian." Bruce Nauman - 2015 - Gagosian. Gagosian
New York, 2015. Web. <http://www.gagosian.com/exhibitions/bruce-nauman--january-27-2015>.
• Dave Godowsky. "Clown Torture - Bruce Nauman, 1987." YouTube. YouTube, 13 Aug. 2009. Web.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YorcQscxV5Y>.
• At the Hub of Things. "At the Hub of Things: New Views of the Collection - Hirshhorn." Hirshhorn
Museum and Sculpture Garden | Smithsonian. At the Hub of Things, n.d. Web.
<http://hirshhorn.si.edu/collection/at-the-hub-of-things/>.
• Khan Academy. "Nauman, The True Artist Helps the World by Revealing Mystic Truths." Khan
Academy. Khan Academy, n.d. Web. <www.khanacademy.orghumanitiesglobal-cultureidentity-
bodyidentity-body-united-statesanauman-the-true-artist-helps-the-world-by-revealing-mystic-
truths>.
• Wikipedia. "Bruce Nauman." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Nauman>.

13. NOTES - I
• Slide - 2 (OVERVIEW)
• Nauman’s work is humorous, crude and satirical.
• Slide – 6 (RUN FROM FEAR, FUN FROM REAR)
• In itself its amusing but with the next sculpture, it becomes quite horrifying.
• Slide – 7 (CAROUSEL)
• Screaming greyhounds are dragged across the floor by their necks in a surreal
orbit.
• Chopped deer running from the hounds and hounds have fun pursuing them.
• What goes around comes around, dead presences wearily rotating. This work is
a carousel of torture.
• When viewed alongside the pained animals of Carousel, the sexual element of
both pieces are emphasized.

14. NOTES - II
• Slide - 8 (SOUTH AMERICAN TRIANGLE)
• An upside down chair, suspended over the center of a triangle.
• Companion piece “South African Diamond”.
• Slide – 9 (GREEN LIGHT CORRIDOR)
• Very narrow corridor, emitting green fluorescent light.
• The light shows every flaw, of your neighbors (strangers) following you through
with you.
• Suddenly an empty room, seems quite filled (invoking claustrophobia).
• Slide – 10 (CLOWN TORTURE)
• 5 videos. Each showing a clown performing a series of actions.
• 1 on projector and other on 4 televisions (1 on each).