In the United States, the late 1960s and 1970s saw the emergence of a number of performance artists, including Vito Acconci, Simone Forti, Gordon Matta-Clark, Bruce Nauman, Yvonne Rainer and Martha Rosler, of whom the Art Museum has a significant video collection.
Bruce Nauman (b. 1941, lives in the United States) directs the video Playing A Note on the Violin While I Walk Around the Studio New Window in 1967-1968. The camera, fixed in the center of the studio, films the artist walking around the room as he plays two very similar notes on his violin. When his body passes out of frame, only the sound of the violin and his footsteps attest to his presence in the space. Sound and image are not synchronized, causing a glaring discrepancy at the end of the film. It was during this period that he began a series of films made in his studio. Each one takes as its starting point an everyday movement, repeated over the duration of the recording, and linked to a sound or musical notes. Through the effects of repetition and time, the action is disrupted and desynchronized, giving the composition a form of tension.
As part of a minimalist, conceptual art form, the artist's sculptures, films and video recordings focus on the body and its movement within a space. Bruce Nauman uses the very space of the studio to reflect on the foundations of artistic practice, exploring the very process of creation.
Curator:
Katell Jaffrès, head of contemporary art at the Musée d'arts de Nantes
Captions and credits
Bruce Nauman, Playing A Note on the Violin While I Walk Around the Studio, 1967 - 1968 (photogram). 16 mm film transferred to Digital Beta, black & white, sound, running time: 11 minutes. Collection Musée d'arts de Nantes © Adagp, Paris, 2022.