Developing Visual Studies: Physical Body Manipulations // Bruce Nauman

My final visual study before I move onto to my textile experimentation was inspired by Bruce Nauman.

A set of imagery I have always loved is ‘Making Faces’ where Nauman has physically manipulated his face to create exaggerated facial expressions.

I reflected about how this relates to my project of malfunction as I thought about how he has physically impaired himself in these photos. I like this idea of self inflicted malfunction, whether it was on purpose or accidental, I think it could be a concept that is explored during my final outcome.

I thought about how this malfunction of his facial features is temporary but for some people, these expressions may look similar to a permanent malfunction such as a cleft lip.

I wanted to create a study that reflected this idea of temporary and permanent through the use of how the malfunction is created; using hands.

I used colour for the manipulated face because I want the viewer to focus of the malfunctioning mouth. Instead of rubbing out the fingers (which are creating the malfunction) I decided to keep them there so that the viewer can then see what’s causing it which adds to my idea of discovering what is causing malfunction. However, because they are in a different colour, the viewer then sees them as either being a part of the drawing or not part of the drawing, which links into the idea of this drawing representing a temporary or a permanent malfunction.

I love the unusual shapes and forms of the manipulation of the skin, as it’s such a vast organ and can be moulded and stretched in a variety of ways to create an interesting texture. I perhaps would like to experiment with these textures and surfaces when completing my textile sampling.