Bruce Nauman: Days
The Museum of Modern Art - MoMA
Wednesday 02 June 2010 to Monday 23 August 2010
A recent addition to the Museum’s collection, Bruce Nauman’s Days (2009) was created for, and debuted at, the 2009 Venice Biennale, where the artist represented the United States with the solo exhibition Bruce Nauman: Topological Gardens. Days is a “sound sculpture” consisting of a continuous stream of seven voices reciting the days of the week in random order.
Fourteen suspended speakers are installed in two rows with one voice emanating from each pair of speakers as the visitor passes between them. There are men’s voices and women’s voices, old and young. Some speak swiftly, others with pause, each with his or her own cadence. The collection of distinctive voices produces a chorus—at times cacophonous, at others, resonant—and creates a sonic cocoon that envelops the visitor. The work invokes both the banality and the profundity of the passing of each day, and invites reflection on how we measure, differentiate, and commemorate time.
Location
The Museum of Modern Art - MoMA11 West 53 Street
Midtown Manhattan Precinct
New York
United States
© All rights reserved Bruce Nauman / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York 2010 United States
Bruce Nauman (American, born 1941) Days. 2009 One audio source consisting of seven stereo audio files, fourteen speakers, two amplifiers, and additional equipment. Dimensions variable. Audio (fourteen channels). Continuous play. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Purchase Installation view at The Museum of Modern Art. Credit: Jason Mandella
