Washing Hands Abnormal
Bruce Nauman
In this work, shown on two stacked monitors, Bruce Nauman washes his hands with a thoroughness bordering on obsession. Each from a different vantage point, the two monitors present a simple everyday action, extended to fill almost an hour. The work is a self-portrait in which the hands serve as a metaphor for the artist’s creative potency. The camera’s unorthodox angle, the image’s shifting colors and the repetitive movement unite in giving this commonplace act an hypnotic effect. Bruce Nauman is particularly renowned for his video performances of the 1970s in which his body is the focus of improvised, repetitive acts. The works produced in the ‘90s refer back to the strategy he pursed in his earlier career.
Makers
Collection
Production date
1996
Library
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Dimensions
56min.
Material
video installation, colour, sound
Object number
2001.1.0154(1-4)
Credits
Verworven met steun van de Vereniging Rembrandt en het Mondriaan Fonds / Acquired with the generous support of the Vereniging Rembrandt (Rembrandt Society) and the Mondriaan Foundation
