Bruce Nauman

1941–

In 1966 Bruce Nauman rented studio space in San Francisco, which for the recent college graduate “raised the fundamental question of what an artist does when left alone in the studio.” “My conclusion,” he reflected, “was that I was an artist and I was in the studio, then whatever it was I was doing in the studio must be art.” The images that constitute the portfolio Eleven Color Photographs represent activities and objects in Nauman’s studio— often ordinary such as Cold Coffee Thrown Away. This literal quality takes on a playful aspect in other photographs, which make visual puns of their title phrases by enacting or staging them: Bound to Fail depicts Nauman’s arms restrained by rope; Drill Team documents a row of drill bits; and Eating My Words records him spreading jam on bread shaped into letters.

In these photographs, Nauman performs and embodies language, giving it physical form in often comedic ways as in Self Portrait as a Fountain, where he becomes a fountain, spewing water from his mouth. The title of this work also evokes Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain (1917) and its attendant questioning of what constitutes an aesthetic object—an issue that is also central to Nauman’s work. Indeed this group of photographs augurs a number of the concerns of his restlessly inventive and diverse output of the past fifty years: inquiries into the definition of the artistic act, the body as a subject, and the ability of language to shape perception and guide meaning.

Wikipedia entry

Introduction

Bruce Nauman (born December 6, 1941) is an American artist. His practice spans a broad range of media including sculpture, photography, neon, video, drawing, printmaking, and performance. Nauman lives near Galisteo, New Mexico.

Wikidata identifier

Q168665

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Information from Wikipedia, made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License . Accessed May 10, 2025.

Getty record

Introduction

Nauman uses himself as the focus of videos, performances and neon work, often exploring word play and moral dilemmas.

Country of birth

United States

Roles

Artist, installation artist, performance artist, photographer, sculptor, video artist

ULAN identifier

500118742

Names

Bruce Nauman

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Information from the Getty Research Institute's Union List of Artist Names ® (ULAN), made available under the ODC Attribution License. Accessed May 10, 2025.

Not on view

First acquired
1970

Date of birth
December 6, 1941

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artists/939