L A AIR
Bruce Nauman
1970
L A AIR
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Bruce Nauman’s artist’s books often appear deceptively simple, yet they are meticulously constructed around carefully orchestrated mysteries and ambiguities. As Robert Storr writes in his introduction to Nauman’s 1995 retrospective at the Museum of Modern ...
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L A AIR
Bruce Nauman
1970
New York: Multiples, Inc.
Unpaginated [12 pages]
30.5 × 30.5 cm
Edition of 1200; facsimile signature on verso

Bruce Nauman’s artist’s books often appear deceptively simple, yet they are meticulously constructed around carefully orchestrated mysteries and ambiguities. As Robert Storr writes in his introduction to Nauman’s 1995 retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art, “at times cryptic, at times funny, and always intellectually and emotionally challenging, Nauman touches the raw nerves of contemporary life while making private feelings and hidden doubt publicly accessible.”


 


“Clea Rsky” and “LA Air” are among his most enigmatic publications as they operate less as illustrated books than as conceptual mechanisms. These works are built around fundamental inquiries that reveal the concerns of conceptual art: What constitutes an image? What transforms something into a picture? How much meaning can reside in a title, a color, or the physical structure of a book itself?


 


Often discussed together, Clea Rsky and LA Air are para-photographic experiments that reconsider the relationship between perception and representation. The images they present are “photographs” of the sky produced without a camera. Each publication consists entirely of printed colored pages that evoke the experience of looking upward while simultaneously revealing the constructed nature of that experience. As Nauman explained in an interview, "Clear Sky was a way to have a book that had only coloured pages- pictures of the sky. I like the idea that you were looking into an image of the sky, but it is just a page: you're not really looking into anything - you're looking at a flat page. LA Air was the same idea, but it was also a response to Clear Sky using polluted colours instead."


 


Through these works, Nauman transforms the book into a cartography of perception and uncertainty, inviting the viewer to question the fluid boundaries between seeing and believing.

New York: Multiples, Inc.
Unpaginated [12 pages]
30.5 × 30.5 cm
Edition of 1200; facsimile signature on verso

Bruce Nauman’s artist’s books often appear deceptively simple, yet they are meticulously constructed around carefully orchestrated mysteries and ambiguities. As Robert Storr writes in his introduction to Nauman’s 1995 retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art, “at times cryptic, at times funny, and always intellectually and emotionally challenging, Nauman touches the raw nerves of contemporary life while making private feelings and hidden doubt publicly accessible.”

 

“Clea Rsky” and “LA Air” are among his most enigmatic publications as they operate less as illustrated books than as conceptual mechanisms. These works are built around fundamental inquiries that reveal the concerns of conceptual art: What constitutes an image? What transforms something into a picture? How much meaning can reside in a title, a color, or the physical structure of a book itself?

 

Often discussed together, Clea Rsky and LA Air are para-photographic experiments that reconsider the relationship between perception and representation. The images they present are “photographs” of the sky produced without a camera. Each publication consists entirely of printed colored pages that evoke the experience of looking upward while simultaneously revealing the constructed nature of that experience. As Nauman explained in an interview, "Clear Sky was a way to have a book that had only coloured pages- pictures of the sky. I like the idea that you were looking into an image of the sky, but it is just a page: you're not really looking into anything - you're looking at a flat page. LA Air was the same idea, but it was also a response to Clear Sky using polluted colours instead."

 

Through these works, Nauman transforms the book into a cartography of perception and uncertainty, inviting the viewer to question the fluid boundaries between seeing and believing.

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Bruce Nauman’s artist’s books often appear deceptively simple, yet they are meticulously constructed around carefully orchestrated mysteries and ambiguities. As Robert Storr writes in his introduction to Nauman’s 1995 retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art, “at times cryptic, at times funny, and always intellectually and emotionally challenging, Nauman touches the raw nerves of contemporary life while making private feelings and hidden doubt publicly accessible.”

 

“Clea Rsky” and “LA Air” are among his most enigmatic publications as they operate less as illustrated books than as conceptual mechanisms. These works are built around fundamental inquiries that reveal the concerns of conceptual art: What constitutes an image? What transforms something into a picture? How much meaning can reside in a title, a color, or the physical structure of a book itself?

 

Often discussed together, Clea Rsky and LA Air are para-photographic experiments that reconsider the relationship between perception and representation. The images they present are “photographs” of the sky produced without a camera. Each publication consists entirely of printed colored pages that evoke the experience of looking upward while simultaneously revealing the constructed nature of that experience. As Nauman explained in an interview, "Clear Sky was a way to have a book that had only coloured pages- pictures of the sky. I like the idea that you were looking into an image of the sky, but it is just a page: you're not really looking into anything - you're looking at a flat page. LA Air was the same idea, but it was also a response to Clear Sky using polluted colours instead."

 

Through these works, Nauman transforms the book into a cartography of perception and uncertainty, inviting the viewer to question the fluid boundaries between seeing and believing.

New York: Multiples, Inc.
Unpaginated [12 pages]
30.5 × 30.5 cm
Edition of 1200; facsimile signature on verso

Bruce Nauman’s artist’s books often appear deceptively simple, yet they are meticulously constructed around carefully orchestrated mysteries and ambiguities. As Robert Storr writes in his introduction to Nauman’s 1995 retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art, “at times cryptic, at times funny, and always intellectually and emotionally challenging, Nauman touches the raw nerves of contemporary life while making private feelings and hidden doubt publicly accessible.”

 

“Clea Rsky” and “LA Air” are among his most enigmatic publications as they operate less as illustrated books than as conceptual mechanisms. These works are built around fundamental inquiries that reveal the concerns of conceptual art: What constitutes an image? What transforms something into a picture? How much meaning can reside in a title, a color, or the physical structure of a book itself?

 

Often discussed together, Clea Rsky and LA Air are para-photographic experiments that reconsider the relationship between perception and representation. The images they present are “photographs” of the sky produced without a camera. Each publication consists entirely of printed colored pages that evoke the experience of looking upward while simultaneously revealing the constructed nature of that experience. As Nauman explained in an interview, "Clear Sky was a way to have a book that had only coloured pages- pictures of the sky. I like the idea that you were looking into an image of the sky, but it is just a page: you're not really looking into anything - you're looking at a flat page. LA Air was the same idea, but it was also a response to Clear Sky using polluted colours instead."

 

Through these works, Nauman transforms the book into a cartography of perception and uncertainty, inviting the viewer to question the fluid boundaries between seeing and believing.

MORE BOOKS

Bruce Nauman’s artist’s books often appear deceptively simple, yet they are meticulously constructed around carefully orchestrated mysteries and ambiguities. As Robert Storr writes in his introduction to Nauman’s 1995 retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art, “at times cryptic, at times funny, and always intellectually and emotionally challenging, Nauman touches the raw nerves of contemporary life while making private feelings and hidden doubt publicly accessible.”

 

“Clea Rsky” and “LA Air” are among his most enigmatic publications as they operate less as illustrated books than as conceptual mechanisms. These works are built around fundamental inquiries that reveal the concerns of conceptual art: What constitutes an image? What transforms something into a picture? How much meaning can reside in a title, a color, or the physical structure of a book itself?

 

Often discussed together, Clea Rsky and LA Air are para-photographic experiments that reconsider the relationship between perception and representation. The images they present are “photographs” of the sky produced without a camera. Each publication consists entirely of printed colored pages that evoke the experience of looking upward while simultaneously revealing the constructed nature of that experience. As Nauman explained in an interview, "Clear Sky was a way to have a book that had only coloured pages- pictures of the sky. I like the idea that you were looking into an image of the sky, but it is just a page: you're not really looking into anything - you're looking at a flat page. LA Air was the same idea, but it was also a response to Clear Sky using polluted colours instead."

 

Through these works, Nauman transforms the book into a cartography of perception and uncertainty, inviting the viewer to question the fluid boundaries between seeing and believing.

MORE BOOKS