Bruce Nauman, Self Portrait as a Fountain

Narrator: These photographs by Bruce Nauman are intentionally playful. In our conversation, McKenzie focused especially on one called Self Portrait as a Fountain.

Dave McKenzie: I think on one hand it's a really classic kind of sculpture. I think about it as a kind of role play. But it's the image in particular of the series that is unbelievably active, meaning you can see the action of its making. And I think that's really helpful for an artist. I think you can imagine one sort of having that idea and you can imagine the playfulness of pretending to be a fountain. It's also something that I notice that I do, like in the shower I do that a lot, this kind of fountain thing.

So... it's like an every person sculpture, right? Whether we're kids or adults, we've all sort of done this gesture.

For me, it feels really generous as an idea.