For the duration of the exhibition, films with and about Bruce Nauman will be screened every Sunday in the Schaulager auditorium. Five films made between 1968 and 2004 give insights into the artist’s studio and his way of thinking, with commentaries on individual works and groups of works as well as statements by Nauman himself. The films will be shown in weekly rotation at 2.30 p.m. and 4 p.m.
THE BRUCE NAUMAN STORY
Shelby Kennedy, USA, 1968, 11', E (without subtitles) Courtesy of LUX
“Shelby Kennedy was a sculptor and painter who made a handful of films around the San Francisco Art Institute at the end of the 1960s. The Bruce Nauman Story is a well-made portrait film. Beginning with a nude Nauman waking up and introducing his biography, the film juxtaposes several portraiture shots (eating breakfast, working in the studio) with Nauman standing outside of these shots, interacting with a projected image of himself. More than a mere document of the artist talking about producing a work, the film becomes a collaborative expression between subject and filmmaker to embody the spirit of the artist through its formal elements.” (LUX)
ART IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY: BRUCE NAUMAN IN “IDENTITY”
USA, 2001, 13' Courtesy of Art21, art21.org
Art21 is the leading nonprofit organization dedicated to engaging and educating audiences about contemporary visual art and artists
Filmed at Nauman’s ranch and studio outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico, the segment features several of Nauman’s explorations into video, text, and self-portraiture—materials and themes the artist has engaged in for over thirty years.
BRUCE NAUMAN – MAKE ME THINK ME
Heinz Peter Schwerfel D, 2004, 66’, E (without subtitles) / D (without subtitles) Courtesy of Heinz Peter Schwerfel
A documentary on contemporary American artist Bruce Nauman, known for his challenging, yet playful approach to conceptual art. This is observed in his public art installation Vices and Virtues, consisting of huge neon signs that flash the seven virtues and the seven deadly sins. Through a diversity of media, including sculpture, video, printmaking, and performance, Nauman uses art to examine communication and the human experience. Make Me Think features 60 of his pieces, including early film projections and video installations like Clown Torture and Anthro/Socio, and chronicles the development of a “video sculpture” titled Violent Incident.
FOUR ARTISTS: ROBERT RYMAN, EVA HESSE, BRUCE NAUMAN, SUSAN ROTHENBERG
Michael Blackwood, USA, 1987, 48‘, E (ohne Untertitel), Narration: Joan Simon New York: Michael Blackwood Productions Courtesy of Michael Blackwood
A collective portrait of 4 New York-based artists who, inspired by Minimal Art paved themselves exemplary ways out of it—unconnected to traditional concepts of beauty, storytelling or pictorial representation. This film offers the rare opportunity to see a large body of work in their studios. The artists discuss how their work and the public's perception of it have changed. They describe the context in which the works were made and their critical concerns.
BRUCE NAUMAN INTERVIEWED BY CHRIS DERCON
CH, 1986, 58’, E (without subtitles) Courtesy of Videowochen im Wenkenpark, Reinhard Manz and René Pulfer
From the off-screen, Chris Dercon talks with Bruce Nauman about his video installations Good Boy Bad Boy, and Violent Incident, as well as about his early video works from the late 1960s. The talk has been recorded at Kunsthalle Basel on July 12, 1986. On occasion of the exhibition Bruce Nauman: Disappearing Acts the recording of the interview is being shown in public for the first time.
