Nauman, Bruce

Nauman, Bruce (nou`mən), 1941–, American artist, b. Fort Wayne, Ind.; studied Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison (B.A., 1964), Univ. of California, Davis (M.F.A., 1966). One of the most innovative and influential contemporary American artists, he has worked in many media, including sculpture (fiberglass, neon, rubber, and other materials), drawing, photography, video, film, holograms, prints, performance, and installations. Highly conceptual and concerned with the process of making art, Nauman displays a witty, irreverant, and frequently ironic sensibility in work that varies from casts of his own body, e.g., From Hand to Mouth (1967, Hirshhorn Mus., Washington, D.C.) to flashing neon signs that frequently pun, employ homonyms, and otherwise play with language, e.g., None Sing (1970, Guggenheim Mus.), and a variety of videotape installations, e.g., Clown Torture (1987, Art Inst. of Chicago) and Mapping the Studio I (Fat Chance John Cage) (2001).

Bibliography

See J. Kraynak, ed., Please Pay Attention Please: Bruce Nauman's Words: Writings and Interviews (2003); studies by J. Livingston and M. Tucker (1972), C. van Bruggen (1988), N. Benezra (1994), R. C. Morgan, ed. (2002), and S. Cross, ed. (2003).

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Nauman, Bruce (1941–  ) sculptor, mixed media artist; born in Fort Wayne, Ind. He studied at the Universities of Indiana and California: Davis (M.F.A. 1966); after living in California (1964–79), he settled in New Mexico (1979). He is known for his sculptures incorporating aspects of the human body, as in From Hand to Mouth (1967), and his subsequent performance pieces utilizing film, video tapes, and neon lighting.