Film UbuWebBruce Nauman (b. 1941)
Manipulating the T-Bar 1966
Dance or Walk on the Perimeter of a Square 1967
Violin Film # 1 (Playing The Violin As Fast As I Can) 1967-8
Walk with Contrapposto 1968
Slow Angle Walk (Beckett Walk) 1968
Bouncing in the Corner No. 1 1968
Wall-Floor Positions 1968
Bouncing in the Corner, No. 2: Upside Down 1969
Gauze 1969
Bouncing Balls 1969
Revolving Upside Down 1969
Black Balls 1969
Elke Allowing the Floor to Rise Up Over Her, Face Up 1973
Tony Sinking into the Floor, Face Up, and Face Down 1973
Good Boy Bad Boy A 1985
Good Boy Bad Boy B 1985
Born in 1941 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Bruce Nauman studied mathematics and physics at the University of Wisconsin before receiving an MFA from the University of California at Davis in 1966. By the late 60s Nauman had earned a reputation as a conceptual pioneer in the field of sculpture and his works were included in the groundbreaking exhibitions, Nine at Castelli (1968) and Anti-Illusion (1969). He began working in film with Robert Nelson and William Allen while teaching at the San Francisco Art Institute. He produced his first videotapes in 1968, describing the transition from film to video thus: "With the films I would work over an idea until there was something that I wanted to do, then I would rent the equipment for a day or two. So I was more likely to have a specific idea of what I wanted to do. With the videotapes, I had the equipment in the studio for almost a year; I could make test tapes and look at them, watch myself on the monitor or have somebody else there to help. Lots of times I would do a whole performance or tape a whole hour and then change it. I don't think I would ever edit but I would redo the whole thing if I didn't like it." Using his body to explore the limits of everday situations, Nauman explored video as a theatrical stage and a surveillance device within an installation context, influenced by the experimental work of Merce Cunningham, Meredith Monk, La Monte Young, Steve Reich, and Phillip Glass.
RESOURCES:
Bruce Nauman in UbuWeb Sound