Nauman, not very interesting

The Bruce Nauman videos are quite weird. Unlike many of the recent videos that we have posted comments on, the Nauman videos don’t appear to have any interactions with the viewer directly. The sound is minimal and what sound there is doesn’t include any human voices. No one speaks to the camera and no one speaks to another individual. The artist doesn’t even look directly into the camera at any time. These pieces don’t seem to me to have any real function other than to follow the artist’s movements.

In Naumen’s Stamping in the Studio the camera hanging from the ceiling focuses on the artist as he dances around the room. The position of the camera, hanging from the ceiling, gives the appearance that the artist is walking on the ceiling. While I believe that that may not have been the desired effect it creates an interesting perspective. One thing I had not thought of, which others have mentioned in their posts, is that the camera on the ceiling may play the role of big brother. The development of surveillance and the ability of to video anyone without their knowing, however doesn’t seem to be much of a factor in this piece. Because there is no interaction between to two people or the interaction of someone with any object, the fact the camera is positioned on the ceiling looking down is perhaps a personal preferences of the artist for its aesthetic qualities. Both of these pieces don’t evoke much of an emotional response in me as the other recent pieces have. I feel that they are not really that meaningful due to the sheer lack of action, let allow any human interaction with another or any object.