Bouncing in the Corner, No. 1

In this video, Nauman faces the camera but his position is such that his head is not visible and we see only his body from the neck to the feet. Standing with his back to the wall, he seems to be levitating. 

The artist f ilms himself in his studio as he lets himself fall backwards and bounce back, again and again, despite the discomfort caused by the repetition. This artistic gesture reflects his material constraints at the time. Nauman has often explained that if he began working with his body it was because he did not have any other materials in hand: “My studio was almost empty because I couldn’t afford to buy material. I was there fore forced to examine myself and ask myself what I was doing there.”