Bruce Nauman Quotes

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What I am really concerned about is what art is supposed to be - and can become.

Bruce Nauman

I don't work that way. Part of it has to do with an idea of beauty. Sunsets, flowers, landscapes: these kinds of things don't move me to do anything. I just want to leave them alone. My work comes out of being frustrated about the human condition. And about how people refuse to understand other people. And about how people can be cruel to each other. It's not that I think I can change that, but it's such a frustrating part of human history

Bruce Nauman

I am really interested in the different ways that language functions... When language begins to break down a little bit, it becomes exciting and communicates in nearly the simplest way that it can function: you are forced to be aware of the sounds and the poetic parts of words. If you deal only with what is known, you'll have redundancy; on the other hand, if you deal only with the unknown, you cannot communicate at all. There is always some combination of the two, and it is how they touch each other that makes communication interesting.

Bruce Nauman

Bruce Nauman

Bruce Nauman

Born: December 6, 1941 (age 83)

Bio: Bruce Nauman 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.

Known for:

Clown Torture (1987)
Human/Need/Desire (1983)
Wall-Floor Positions (1968)
Learned Helplessness in Rats (Rock and Roll Drummer) (1988)
One Hundred Live and Die (1984)

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