Bruce Nauman

Collection of Various Flexible Materials Separated by Layers of Grease with Holes the Size of My Waist and Wrists

1966

Aluminum foil, plastic sheet, foam rubber, felt, and grease

Not on view

In the 1960s, Nauman worked with throwaway materials—aluminum foil, plastic sheets, foam rubber, felt, and grease. Here, he layers them into a soft, suede-like blanket. His choice of inexpensive materials that transform with time reflects his broader interest in decay and entropy. During this time, Nauman also began using his body to create sculptures through casting and recording his performances and actions with the newly available handheld camera. The holes piercing the materials directly relate to the body—he described his fascination with the negative space of forms as a way of “thinking about the underside and the backside of things.”

Gallery label from

"Collection: 1940s—1970s", 2019

Medium Aluminum foil, plastic sheet, foam rubber, felt, and grease
Dimensions 3" x 7' 6 1/4" x 19 1/8" (7.6 x 229.2 x 48.5 cm)
Credit Helen Acheson Bequest (by exchange) and gift of Douglas S. Cramer
Object number 301.1997
Department Painting & Sculpture

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Bruce Nauman

Bruce Nauman

American, born 1941 93 works online

For more than 50 years, he has worked in every conceivable artistic medium, dissolving established genres and inventing new ones in the process.

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