Critical Writing Index

PheNAUMANNology

by Marcia Tucker

Artforum, Dec. 1970, v. 9, no. 4, pp. 38-43

An essay that discusses Bruce Nauman's development as an artist, and the increasing complexity of his work, including video monitor pieces, performance work, and architectural interventions. The author contends that Nauman uses natural phenomena as his basic material, isolating, recontextualizing, or inverting them to create specific physical experiences. Nauman's work, she writes, addresses human nature and the the way in which things are experienced (rather than perceived or made), and thus can only be fully realized through the participation of the viewer. Nauman's art endeavors to overload the spectator emotionally, through the amplification and deprivation of sensory data acheived via manipulation of sound, space, text, and the body.

ITEM 1970.003 – available for viewing in the Research Centre

Videos, Artworks and Artists Cited

Hand to Mouth – Bruce Nauman

Neon Templates of the Left Half of My Body Taken at 10 Inch Intervals – Bruce Nauman

Bouncing Balls in the Studio – Bruce Nauman

Black Balls – Bruce Nauman

Wilder Gallery Installation – Bruce Nauman

Isometric View of Wilder Gallery Installation – Bruce Nauman

Floor Plan of Wilder Gallery Installation – Bruce Nauman

Acoustic Panels – Bruce Nauman

Acoustic Wall – Bruce Nauman

Acoustic Pressure Piece – Bruce Nauman

Acoustic Piece for Konrad Fisher – Bruce Nauman

Bouncing in the Corner – Bruce Nauman

Sperone Piece – Bruce Nauman

Touch Piece – Bruce Nauman

Second Poem Piece – Bruce Nauman

Two Rooms: Empty, sealed and private – Bruce Nauman