Raw War, 1971

Multi-faceted in his approach to art, Bruce Nauman is celebrated for his works across a wide range of media including performance, sculpture, and his trademark use of neon. Nauman’s work is celebrated for its humour and irony – some works employ these themes to an unsettling degree forcing the viewer to confront their own physicality, other works are just plain funny – neon works such as Run From Fear, Fun From Rear highlight the metaphorical and semantic possibilities that arise from a simple and subtle rearrangement of letters. Commenting on his expansive range of disciplines and mediums, Nauman recalled his profound realisation of ”If I was an artist and I was in the studio, then whatever I was doing in the studio must be art. At this point art became more of an activity and less of a product.” Many of Nauman’s works tackle the themes of human psychology with often disturbing effects – Changing Light Corridor with Rooms is one among many ‘claustrophobic’ works and consists of a long, enclosed corridor, flanked either side by two rooms that have been installed with flashing bulbs, timed to flicker at different rates.