Bruce Nauman

The Conservation of Bruce Nauman’s Neon Templates of the Left Half of My Body at Ten Inch Intervals (1966)

Bruce Nauman has long been recognized as one of America’s most innovative and provocative artists. He emerged in the mid-1960s as a leading figure in Performance and Body Art and has since created an open-ended body of work that includes sculptures, photographs, films, videos, holograms, interactive environments, performances, and neon wall reliefs. David Whitney organized Bruce Nauman’s’ first solo exhibition at Leo Castelli Gallery and authored the notes for the exhibition catalog, launching the artist’s career and long exhibition history.

Neon Templates of the Left Half of My Body Taken at Ten Inch Intervals is a self-portrait in absentia. The shapes of the neon tubes were molded against the contours of the artist’s body. Since its creation in 1966, Neon Templates has been exhibited in sixteen exhibitions and displayed in 43 national and international venues. Acquired by David Whitney in 1967 from Richard Bellamy, the original was displayed only three times: first in the “Second Annual Art to Artschwager Show” at Noah Goldowsky Gallery, New York, from which the work was acquired by Richard Bellamy in 1967; then at Leo Castelli for the artist’s first solo exhibition organized by David Whitney in 1968; and finally at Corcoran Gallery of Art for their “31st Biennial Exhibition” in 1969.

Due to the sculpture’s popularity and fragility, the practice of fabricating replicas for temporary exhibitions was developed. Loan agreements required potential borrowers to meet four criterion. First, artist Bruce Nauman required that the original neon must be in existence and in working order. Second, the current owner of the artwork must agree to the loan before a replica exhibition copy is fabricated. Third, the credit line for the loaned artwork would specify that the work on view is an exhibition copy and acknowledge the owner of the original. The final criteria required the destruction of the copy at the conclusion of the exhibition. Borrowers were asked to provide photographic documentation that the destruction had taken place.

Initially, loan requests were coordinated through Leo Castelli Gallery. Later, the artist’s studio and David Whitney would work directly. In 2005 and 2006, Nauman authorized two exhibition copies to be made for two different traveling exhibitions. The artist’s fabricator, Jacob Fishman traveled to the Glass House to measure, document, and recreate accurate exhibition copies. In January 2006, the Milwaukee Museum of Art organized Elusive Signs: Bruce Nauman Works with Light, the most comprehensive retrospective of the artist’s work since 1994. Elusive Signs then traveled to Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indiana (2006); Museum of Contemporary Art, N. Miami (2006); Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington (2007); Musee d'art contemporain de Montreal (2007); The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh (2007); and Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (2008). In January 2007, A Rose Has No Teeth: Bruce Nauman in the 1960s debuted at the Berkeley Museum of Art and Pacific Film Archive before traveling to Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, Turin, Italy (2007), and The Menil Collection, Houston, Texas (2007).

In 2007, the artist’s studio proposed that the National Trust for Historic Preservation own and manage these two exhibition copies. This change in practice was driven by two significant factors: the increasing rarity of yellow colored uranium glass and the non-archival nature of neon within the glass tubes. At the time of its creation in 1966, phosphorus was already quickly replacing uranium as a colorant for neon signage, and at present, the artist’s fabricator only has enough tubing to recreate one complete sculpture. While uranium glass may still be reproduced, it would be at considerable cost and would not guarantee a color match. The events of September 11, 2001 have further complicated the purchase of uranium.

In addition, the contents inside the tube, argon gas and mercury, are non-archival. The mercury reacts to the uranium, and over the course of its lifetime, the light emitted in the tubes becomes uneven and darkens in areas. The lifespan of the argon gas and mercury is 25-30 years. In 2007, when the Glass House opened to the public, the original artwork was 41 years old. Although it was working, it was eleven years past its prime.

The artist suggested that NTHP keep both copies, preserve the original by storing it while it was still operational, install one of the exhibition copies for display, and allow the second replica to circulate. The Glass House / NTHP agreed with the principles underlying the proposal, and in 2008 an agreement was drafted between the studio and NTHP. The NTHP now owns and manages the exhibition copies.

The following year, in 2009, Jacob Fishman returned to the Glass House to deinstall and store the original Neon Templates for safekeeping and to install the exhibition copy from Elusive Signs in the Sculpture Gallery. The exhibition copy from Elusive Signs was made before the one for A Rose Has No Teeth, and its tubes are the same diameter as the original. The exhibition copy fabricated for A Rose Has No Teeth is actually 1mm smaller, a testament to the difficulty in sourcing the correct type and size glass tubes. Often requested, the exhibition copy of Neon Templates from A Rose Has No Teeth continues to circulate.

For further information or to request a loan, please contact the Glass House Curator + Collections Manager.

EXHIBITION HISTORY

Noah Goldowsky Gallery, New York
June – September 1967
Original artwork displayed

Leo Castelli Gallery, New York
January 27 – February 17, 1968
Original artwork displayed

Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
January 31 – March 9, 1969
Original artwork displayed

Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
March 15 – April 27, 1969

Museum Folkwang, Essen, West Germany
May 9 – 22 June 22, 1969

Kunsthalle Bern, Switzerland
March 22 – April 27, 1969

Museum Haus Lange, Krefeld, West Germany
May 9 – June 15, 1969

Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, United Kingdom
September 28 – October 27, 1969

Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California
December 19, 1972 – February 18, 1973

Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
March 29 – May 13, 1973

Kunsthalle Bern, Switzerland
June – August 8, 1973

Stadtische Kunsthalle, Dusseldorf, West Germany
August 18 – September 30, 1973

Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
October 12 – November 25, 1973

Palazzo Reale, Milan, Italy
December 20, 1973 – February 1974

Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, Texas
March – April 1974

San Francisco Museum of Art, California
May 3 – June 30, 1974

Centre d’arts Plastiques Contemporains de Bordeaux, France
March 12 – April 30, 1982

Baltimore Museum of Art, Maryland
December 19, 1982 – February 13, 1983

Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, California
December 6, 1986 – January 10, 1988

Kunsthalle, Basel, Switzerland
July 13 – Sept 7, 1986

ARC, Musee d’art moderne de la ville de Paris, France
October 8 – December 7, 1986

Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, United Kingdom
January 23 – March 8, 1986

Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
February 20 – June 3, 1990

Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, California
February 17 – July 7, 1991

Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain
November 30, 1993 – February 21, 1994

Hayward Gallery, London, United Kingdom
January 21 – March 14, 1993

The Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
April 10, 1994 – June 19, 1994

Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, California
July 17 – September, 25, 1994

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
November 3, 1994 – January 29, 1995

The Museum of Modern Art, New York
March 1 – May 23, 1995

Kunsthaus Zurich, Switzerland
July 13 – October 8, 1995

Milwaukee Art Museum, Wisconsin
January 28 - April 9, 2006

Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indiana
14 May - 6 August 2006

Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami, Florida
October 13, 2006 -- January 7, 2007

Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, University of California
January 17 – April 15, 2007

Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle
February 10 — May 6, 2007

Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, Turin, Italy
May 15 – September 15, 2007

Musee d'art contemporain de Montreal, Canada
May 26 to September 3, 2007

The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
September 30 – December 30, 2007

The Menil Collection, Houston, Texas
October 25, 2007 – January 13, 2008

Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, California
May 25 – Aug. 31, 2008

Dia Art Foundation, Beacon, New York
September 19, 2008 – September 20, 2011

Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, Massachusetts
October 7, 2011 -January 16, 2012.

UPCOMING

Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York
July 14 – December 30, 2012

JACOB FISHMAN, CONSERVATOR
Since 1983, Jacob Fishman of Lightwriters Neon of Northbrook, Illinois has fabricated fifteen original neon sculptures and eleven program timers for artist Bruce Nauman. He has replicated over 60 works by Nauman for thirteen exhibitions, including several major retrospectives. Fishman also conserves Nauman’s artwork for private art and museum collections. Past conservation projects include artwork in the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Dia: Beacon, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Art Institute of Chicago, UCLA Arm and Hammer Museum of Art and Cultural Center, and Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Germany. Fishman holds a B.S.E.E. from the University of Arizona.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The 2009 conservation of Bruce Nauman’s early neon sculpture Neon Templates of the Left Half of My Body at Ten Inch Intervals was made possible in part by a 1:1 matching grant from the Historic Sites Fund. The Historic Sites Fund is endowed in part by grants from the National Park Service and the Gifts of Heritage Program. The Gifts of Heritage Program is a partnership between the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Human Rights Campaign. This is the first grant award to the Philip Johnson Glass House for the conservation and care of its fine art collection.

The Philip Johnson Glass House is grateful to artist Bruce Nauman and his studio manager Juliet Myers for their input and assistance on the conservation and care of the original artwork and ownership and management of the exhibition copies.