"Western Disturbances: Bruce Nauman's singular influence" by Calvin Tomkins 2009

Bruce Nauman, One Hundred Live and Die, 1984

This article discusses Bruce Nauman's life and work.  His work has tended to be all over the place in that he has used a variety of media including neon lights, sound, film, etc.  Many people seem to be confused/bored/antagonistic towards his work.  Reading this, I definitely identified with him in that he liked math and music as a child and then decided to turn to art in college when he realized he just wasn't dedicated enough to math to be a physics major.  Nauman gained success quite early in the art world, having his own solo show at a young age of his odd sculptures.  Some of his early work involved sculptures that illustrated puns.  Being a quiet, unemotional man, Nauman's first marriage dissolved and he had one other long term relationship before entering into a partnership with Susan Rothenberg that is still going today.  An early retrospective sent Nauman into a funk and as he came out of it, his artwork took a more political, angry turn.  Living in New Mexico near Sante Fe, Nauman's work has become more brooding and meditative as he gets older.  He is still ever on the lookout for a new challenge or media to take up--now he is pondering the self portrait and has been experimenting with drawing from a plaster mold.