ART CITIES:N.York- Bruce Nauman
In 1968 Bruce Nauman created the seminal video “Walk with Contrapposto”, in which the artist performed an exaggerated walk along a tall, narrow corridor that he had built. Making reference to his earlier work while ruminating on the bodily ideals of classical sculpture, the artist presents “Contrapposto Studies, I through VII”.
By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Sperone Westwater Archive
The exhibition “Contrapposto Studies, I through VII” presents a new work by Bruce Nauman, which continues the artist’s exploration of video, sound, and performance. Characteristic of his work over the last 50 years, Nauman transforms a simple and subtle gesture into a complex network of images and sound. Consisting of seven large-scale video projections with sound, the work features footage of the artist as he walks in contrapposto*. Across the projections, his image is repeated and rendered in both positive and negative, while walking backwards and forwards, respectively. At times, the repeated images of the artist’s body become fragmented and stacked in two distinct layers. Each projection is accompanied by the sound of the artist’s movements, as well as ancillary studio sounds resulting from the filming and editing process. Here, Nauman digitally transforms a singular gesture into an increasingly complex visual and auditory experience.
Info: Sperone Westwater, 257 Bowery, New York, Duration: 10/9-29/10/16, Days & Hours: Tue-Sat 10:00-18:00, www.speronewestwater.com
* Contrapposto is an Italian term that means counterpose. It is used in the visual arts to describe a human figure standing with most of its weight on one foot so that its shoulders and arms twist off-axis from the hips and legs. It can also be used to refer to multiple figures which are in counter-pose (or opposite pose) to one another.
