“I thought that outdoor sculpture was usually big and durable, but that seemed very dumb. Because its already very nice outside, with trees and fields, and I didn’t want to put something there and change it all. So I thought I’d make something which fell apart after a while – which would return to nature like dirt or paper”.
Bruce Nauman
Being unfamiliar with Nauman and this work, I went away and googled and found he is a contemporary artist, with an eclectic approach and body of work. The first things I saw were lots of neon and I thought to myself, well he must have done this ephemeral work a reasonable time ago, because he now seems to be very much about things NOT going away, but I digress.
It is more the idea behind his words that caught my eye/brain.
I quite liked his apparently simple approach - that the outdoors/nature is already pretty gorgeous and why would we choose to sully that with imposed sculptures? And logically that leads you to ephemeral art which returns, goes back into the atmosphere or the earth and leaves barely a trace of its time there.
I must say I do love ephemeral art, and I am very fond of things being left to decay, disappear, decline, deteriorate and decompose.
Which is not to say I am not equally fond of wandering around outside and coming across sculptures and artwork that are permanent, and which utterly enhance and transform an otherwise unremarkable walk. It always give me joy to discover art along the way!
Whilst not ephemeral, this piece has rusted beautifully (shown here in 2010). These are the letters, cut out from the steel panel piece that sits above them. The words are seen each time the owner comes home, and I love the idea of the letters becoming subsumed by the forest floor...returning.
Bruce Nauman
Being unfamiliar with Nauman and this work, I went away and googled and found he is a contemporary artist, with an eclectic approach and body of work. The first things I saw were lots of neon and I thought to myself, well he must have done this ephemeral work a reasonable time ago, because he now seems to be very much about things NOT going away, but I digress.
It is more the idea behind his words that caught my eye/brain.
I quite liked his apparently simple approach - that the outdoors/nature is already pretty gorgeous and why would we choose to sully that with imposed sculptures? And logically that leads you to ephemeral art which returns, goes back into the atmosphere or the earth and leaves barely a trace of its time there.
I must say I do love ephemeral art, and I am very fond of things being left to decay, disappear, decline, deteriorate and decompose.
Which is not to say I am not equally fond of wandering around outside and coming across sculptures and artwork that are permanent, and which utterly enhance and transform an otherwise unremarkable walk. It always give me joy to discover art along the way!
Whilst not ephemeral, this piece has rusted beautifully (shown here in 2010). These are the letters, cut out from the steel panel piece that sits above them. The words are seen each time the owner comes home, and I love the idea of the letters becoming subsumed by the forest floor...returning.
so perfect for the turning of the year!!
ReplyDeleteYes, turning and returning Mo! Its a bit like the moon too isn't it? Go well.
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