In this conceptual video work, whose concern with geometric shapes was influenced by his undergraduate studies in the fields of mathematics and physics, Nauman creates concentric circles and spirals by stamping his feet on the studio floor. In this way, he attempts both to visually fill the entire space captured by the camera and to enlarge it by forcing the viewer to mentally complete the missing parts of the geometrical shapes and thus expand beyond the boundaries of the frame, which captures only part of the artist’s studio.
The image of the moving artist was filmed upside down, and appears in a fixed frame. Accompanied by a desynchronized soundtrack composed of a primitive musical rhythm and the sounds of the artist’s steps, breath and movements, this work provokes in the viewer a certain sense of uneasiness. The repetitive nature of the artist’s actions may be taken to symbolize the rituals and struggles of human existence – a motif that can also be found in the plays of Samuel Beckett, which greatly influenced Nauman.
G. L.

Bruce Nauman born in the United States, 1941

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