Language is a virus

Born in 1941, the American artist Bruce Nauman produces various types of work: sculptures, photographs, films, videos and performances. Is this because he doesn’t have very clear ideas? On the contrary: Nauman definitely isn’t short of ideas! His aim is to constantly create something different and to continuously ask himself: what is art and what can it become? His starting point is observing the behaviour of others, and the ways in which people move in space. The body is very important in his art; it is the instrument with which he analyses the relationship between objects and space. In some works, he uses casts of his own head and arms. Language, as our means of interacting with others, is also a theme he has explored extensively. Using neon tubes, he has created word games, absurd sentences, infinite repetitions of words, presenting us with a nagging and unresolved problem: are we really capable of communicating exclusively with words?

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