Clown Torture - Bruce Nauman, 1987

Exhibit from the Art Institute of Chicago

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• clown
• torture
• bruce
• nauman
• art
• institute
• chicago

[5amariu5]

It's such a fine line between modern art and bullshit. In fact, you could be forgiven for saying there is none.

[ninjabastard2]

"its not as easy as it looks, is it"

[AtomicLemonade]

I wanna know what he's saying, at at 0:33 it sounds like he's saying "GOOOO DOWN", and at 0:53 it kind of sounds like he's saying "You like to be scared? you wanna be scared?

[AtomicLemonade]

I found this so disturbing

[diantonovich]

@christiangaraccio If this is art, then me talking shit about it is even better art.

This is shit. Themes and social issues? Ass-whiping is NOT a social issue!

[diantonovich]

If this is art, then me talking shit about it is even better art.

This is shit. Themes and social issues? Ass-whiping is NOT a social issue!

[02hbotedw]

for works like this you cant take it as it come on face value, you need to look deeper into what the artist is trying to show you. Here the narrative isn't heavy, but it does clearly has elements of a narrative story, maybe Nauman whated us to structure a narrative out of the pieces he gave us, or maybe he just wanted to experiment with how brain dead people have become, expecting to be spoon fed meaning and motivations behind the piece

"All progress is experimental"

[consternation6]

@fretgod321 technically every new generation of artists kills off the generation before by branding them "modern", as did the Dadaists, for instance, who insisted they weren't modernists. it's all just a convention to allow art historians to keep writing new books. and you have to remember that the first use of "Modernism" was in the Renaissance, it's always been there and keeps being killed off, like a many-headed hydra

[fretgod321]

@christiangaraccio technically this isn't "modern" art. it's postmodern. modernism ended in the 70s.

[christiangaraccio]

Before any more comments about how "crappy and thoughtless modern art" is, I suggest understanding the themes and social issues that are being evaluated in works such as Nauman's... You will reconsider the level of intellect that such artists posses...

[bluecornmuffin21]

I think this is hilarious. At first it's like "omfg what's happening!" But then, after a closer look, it's just clowns exaggerating over mundane pranks and problems. No toilet paper, about to be tickled, magic trick prank. Silly clowns.

[poppasmurfsdad]

This is just a funny "Kenny Everett" joke that has been expanded.