Clown Torture
Tim Chmielewski
couple of years ago (my favourite one on art apart from "American
Visions").
Has anyone seen the instalation in a gallery?
http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/nauman/card2.html
Bruce Nauman
Clown Torture
Nauman's "Clown Torture" is a shattering spectacle of color, motion, and
sound. Displayed at high volume, the audio level of the five
simultaneously occurring videos is an assault on the senses. Heard long
before it's viewed, one must bravely enter into an enclosed, darkened
room in order to see where all the noise is coming from. Once inside, two
pairs of stacked monitors and two wall projections come into view.
Immediately one senses that something is awry, as only two of the four
televisions are oriented right side up. With one monitor turned upside-
down and the other placed on its side, the images become abstracted and
disorienting. The videos playing on the monitors record clowns in
unnerving or difficult situations. In one sequence, a clown screams at an
unseen antagonist. In another, a clown repeats the elliptical story "Pete
and Repeat were sitting on a fence. Pete fell off; who was left? Repeat.
Pete and Repeat were sitting on a fence." Recited with a variety of
expressions (happy, scared, mad, etc.), the clown can't help but hide a
growing frustration at not being able to finish the story or have it make
sense. Two videos show clowns trying balance objects - goldfish bowls and
buckets of water - with little success. The final video resembles a scene
from a closed-circuit security camera, only it's a disconcerting image of
a clown using a public toilet.
Nauman's "Clown Torture" makes its artifice obvious, from the caked
makeup of the clowns' faces to the many power cords that run across the
ceiling, walls, and floor. With activity occurring from nearly every
angle, the viewer - like the clown - is the subject of experimentation
and interrogation. While it's easy to tell that these clowns are only
acting-out traumas, it is nevertheless difficult to watch and
purposefully so. "Clown Torture" makes the viewer question his or her own
participation in the events on screen. Alluding to difficult subjects
such as insanity, political torture, and surveillance, the work makes
complex connections between theater, media, and apathy The makeup, hair,
and costume of each clown act as a disguise for the actor or person
underneath. Anonymous victims and inciters of brutality and pranks, these
scared and scary clowns seem simultaneously real and unreal
--
My Photos : http://photos.timchuma.com
Two Preson Bike: http://timchuma.com/twopresonbike/
The Twits Give Me the Shits : http://twitsgivemetheshits.timchuma.com
Tim's Hong Kong movie reviews: http://hkmovies.timchuma.com
Kevin S. Wilson
wrote:
>I remember seeing this on a documentary called "This is Modern Art" a
>couple of years ago (my favourite one on art apart from "American
>Visions").
>
>Has anyone seen the instalation in a gallery?
>
>http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/nauman/card2.html
>
Does my basement count as a gallery?
Chris McGonnell
That depends. Do you have it filled with masterpieces stolen from
museums around the world, as Clint Eastwood's character did in "The
Eiger Sanction?" Or do you have your stepkids' coloring book
masterpieces right beside a portrait of Elvis on black velvet? It
makes a difference.
--
Chris McG.
Harming humanity since 1951.
"McGonnell, welcome to Plonksville, population: You" -- Stacia
Kevin S. Wilson
<sme...@NOkey-net.net> wrote:
>On Tue, 22 Nov 2005 07:10:34 -0700, Kevin S. Wilson wrote:
>
>>On 22 Nov 2005 02:36:20 GMT, Tim Chmielewski <webm...@timchuma.com>
>>wrote:
>>
>>>I remember seeing this on a documentary called "This is Modern Art" a
>>>couple of years ago (my favourite one on art apart from "American
>>>Visions").
>>>
>>>Has anyone seen the instalation in a gallery?
>>>
>>>http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/nauman/card2.html
>>>
>>
>>Does my basement count as a gallery?
>
>That depends. Do you have it filled with masterpieces stolen from
>museums around the world, as Clint Eastwood's character did in "The
>Eiger Sanction?" Or do you have your stepkids' coloring book
>masterpieces right beside a portrait of Elvis on black velvet? It
>makes a difference.
The latter, plus clown torture.
I actually knew a guy -- the father of a friend in college -- who
proudly displayed that "Dogs Playing Poker" painting in his dining
room. But then again, the entire house was decorated like a
second-hand store. He was a notorious pack rat.
Chris McGonnell
>On Wed, 23 Nov 2005 19:40:59 +0000, Chris McGonnell
><sme...@NOkey-net.net> wrote:
<big snip>
>>That depends. Do you have it filled with masterpieces stolen from
>>museums around the world, as Clint Eastwood's character did in "The
>>Eiger Sanction?" Or do you have your stepkids' coloring book
>>masterpieces right beside a portrait of Elvis on black velvet? It
>>makes a difference.
>
>The latter, plus clown torture.
>
>I actually knew a guy -- the father of a friend in college -- who
>proudly displayed that "Dogs Playing Poker" painting in his dining
>room. But then again, the entire house was decorated like a
>second-hand store. He was a notorious pack rat.
Y'know, I've often been tempted to give one of those to my Dad, just
so his four sons will have something to fight over when he dies. But
then I remember that we'll argue over nothing, so why spend money?