Revolving Upside Down, 1968
NTSC, sound, black and white
The space is turned upside down, inverted, and it is in this loss of balance that Bruce Nauman spins round on one foot, seeking his center of gravity. Although there is nothing beneath him, that does not make it a dangerous, terrifying chasm, for the body in its constant circular motion is endlessly restabilizing, constant focusing on a new center. A movement which, as it progresses, draws an oblique line towards an exit, a glance off-camera, outside the frame. The fact that it is filmed upside down leads to an alteration of perception, another point of view which is part of an inventory of possible positions that the artist has constantly listed throughout his work.
In an interview with Chris Dercon, Bruce Nauman stated: "When I did the performances, a long time ago, I'd made like a list of possibilities to do certain types of movements: standing up, leaning, sitting, lying down..., I had drawn up a list of seemingly discontinuous movements. When I did the performances, I realized that some of the positions seemed to involve powerful emotional bonds, while others were simple changes of posture which meant nothing." 1
Stéphanie Moisdon
1 "Décomposer, décomposer sans cesse", catalog of the 4th International Video Week, Geneva, 1991.