Bruce Nauman
Bruce Nauman is a significant contemporary artist known for his innovative and diverse body of work since the 1960s. Born in 1941 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, he received his education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of California, Davis, where he explored various artistic styles and mediums. Nauman's art spans sculpture, printmaking, neon lights, and video, and he is noted for his ability to blend everyday materials into compelling installations and performances. His early work gained traction in the art world, even leading to his first solo exhibition in 1966. Over the years, Nauman's art has evolved to reflect social and political themes, often characterized by an aggressive style and provocative content, as seen in pieces like "Clown Torture." Despite facing challenges in his career, including periods of creative stagnation, he has received numerous accolades, including the Wolf Foundation Prize and the Praemium Imperiale. Nauman maintains a private life, residing on a ranch in New Mexico with his wife, fellow artist Susan Rothenberg. His influence on contemporary art is widely recognized, with many experts citing him as one of the most impactful American artists of his generation.
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Subject Terms
Bruce Nauman
Artist
- Born: December 6, 1941
- Place of Birth: Place of birth: Fort Wayne, Indiana
Education: University of Wisconsin-Madison; University of California, Davis
Significance: Since the 1960s, Bruce Nauman has been an influential contemporary artist. He has worked with many different media—including sculpture, print, neon lights, and film—making his body of work an eclectic mix with no real defining style. Some experts say that he is the most influential artist of the 1960s, and his work has helped develop the styles of other contemporary artists.
Background
Bruce Nauman was born in 1941 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. His parents were Calvin and Genevieve Nauman. The Naumans brought up Bruce and his brothers, Craig and Larry, with a strict set of moral rules. The family moved a number of times when Nauman was young because of his father’s job as an engineer and a salesman for General Electric.
Nauman attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he planned to study mathematics and physics but later decided to study art. He mostly painted during this time, but his professors largely disapproved of his abstract style. He received his bachelor of fine arts degree from the school in 1964. He continued his education at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis), where he received a master’s degree. Nauman’s experience at UC Davis was much different, and he felt the freedom to experiment with a variety of styles and mediums there.
Life’s Work
After finishing his formal education, Nauman continued experimenting. He and his then wife, Judy, moved to San Francisco, where Nauman opened a studio. When Nauman first began working in his own studio, he realized that art did not necessarily have to be a product such as a painting or a sculpture. Rather, it could be an activity or performance. Nauman created his art through sculpture, video, prints, installations, and performance.
In 1966, Nauman had his first solo gallery show after his work was noticed by a Los Angeles art dealer. Although nothing sold at the event, Nauman’s work appeared in other exhibits and he started to be recognized in the art world. After spending time in Europe and New York, Nauman moved to Los Angeles.
Nauman did not focus on a particular style or a particular medium, but he did often use materials in his work that were already part of everyday life. Nauman also worked with light in a number of his pieces. For instance, an untitled work he created was made of cardboard, wood, paint, and resin. This piece was then lit by an electric bulb to make it glow. Nauman also used neon lights to create a number of his pieces. Many of these works were bold and eye catching, such as American Violence, which was made from neon lights and included short phrases arranged to look like a swastika.
In 1972, the Los Angeles County Museum organized a retrospective of Nauman’s work. After the event, Nauman had difficulty producing new work, and his reputation began to fade. However, he soon found inspiration in social and political topics, including strife in Latin America and South Africa. Nauman’s work became known for an aggressive style and rawness. It was meant to be abrupt and jarring for viewers. Many of his pieces included sexual imagery or profanity. Some of his pieces were also disturbing to some viewers. For example, his work Clown Torture was a video of a clown saying and eventually screaming the word "no." It disturbed some viewers so much they warned others not to watch it.
In 1994, the Walker Art Center and the Hirshhorn Museum put together another retrospective of the artist’s work. Again, Nauman had a difficult time creating new pieces after the retrospective had finished. Nevertheless, he continued to work and eventually began creating new pieces and putting on more shows.
Despite the highs and lows of his career, Nauman has been recognized numerous times for his work. His awards include the Wolf Foundation Prize in Arts (1993), the Wexner Prize (1994), and the Praemium Imperiale for Visual Arts (2004). He was also named the 2014 laureate of the Austrian Frederick and Lillian Kiesler Prize for Architecture and Art in Vienna, Austria. Nauman's exhibit His Mark was displayed in Sperone Westwater, New York, from January 13, 2022, through March 12, 2022. The exhibit featured its titular piece, His Mark, in which six 3-D projections displayed variations of Nauman's hands continually tracing the shape of an "X" on a table.
Impact
Nauman’s work has been both praised and panned by critics, but even his critics agree that he has had an important impact on the art world. Nauman’s bold work was an answer to the minimalist art movement. Some experts say that he was the most influential American artist of the 1960s. His work helped later artists develop their own contemporary styles.
Personal Life
Nauman married his first wife, Judy Govan, in the 1960s. The couple had two children, Erik and Zoё. The marriage ended in the mid-1970s, and Nauman married Harriet Lindenberg soon after. That marriage also ended. In the late 1980s, Nauman met a fellow artist named Susan Rothenberg, and they married a number of months after meeting. They live on a 700-acre ranch south of Santa Fe in Galisteo, New Mexico. They also have a home and studio in New York City. Nauman does not interact a great deal with others from the art world and prefers to keep his life private. Nauman also breeds and cares for horses.
Bibliography
"Bruce Nauman." The Art Story. The Art Story Foundation, n.d. Web. 9 May 2016.
"Bruce Nauman." ART21. ART21 Inc, n.d. Web. 9 May 2016.
"Bruce Nauman." Brooke Alexander Gallery. Brooke Alexander Gallery, n.d. Web. 9 May 2016.
"Bruce Nauman." Gagosian Gallery. Gagosian Gallery, n.d. Web. 9 May 2016.
"Bruce Nauman." Guggenheim. Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, n.d. Web. 9 May 2016.
"Brunce Nauman: His Mark." Sperone Westwater, 2022, www.speronewestwater.com/exhibitions/bruce-nauman17#tab:slideshow. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.
"Bruce Nauman." Sperone Westwater. Sperone Westwater, n.d. Web. 9 May 2016.
Platt, Stacy J. "Bruce Nauman Makes His Mark, Again and Again." Hyperallergic, 31 Aug. 2023, hyperallergic.com/841793/bruce-nauman-makes-his-mark-again-and-again/. Accessed 2 Oct. 2024.
Tomkins, Calvin. "Western Disturbances." New Yorker. Condé Nast, 1 June 2009. Web. 10 May