Work:

I chose to focus on Bruce Nauman’s Having Fun/Good Life, Symptoms. The work is not a painting, but rather two overlapping spirals made out of flashing neon lighting on a raised white background. The lights form words, and each phrase is “written” in two colors (one on top of the other). Each phrase is done in different colors. The left spiral is a sequence of opposites: “FEVER AND CHILLS DRYNESS AND SWEATING NORTH AND SOUTH EAST AND WEST OVER AND UNDER FRONT AND BACK UP AND DOWN IN AND OUT.” The right spiral reads, “I LIVE THE GOOD LIFE I’M HAVING FUN YOU LIVE THE GOOD LIFE YOU’RE HAVING FUN WE LIVE THE GOOD LIFE WE’RE HAVING FUN THIS IS THE GOOD LIFE THIS IS FUN.” The phrases flash in different patterns, and the spirals are not synchronized, although they are symmetrical. Each spiral contains eight phrases, so in that sense it is balanced. The entire work gives off an annoying buzzing sound from the neon lights.

I chose this piece because there was something haunting about its message. The repetition of being told that we are having fun seemed so mechanical and impersonal, and the contrast between the idea of being happy and the way it was presented was intriguing.

Here is a link to a video I took of the original work: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bzzm02DRmm5jQ1BoTUZyQTNhN0E/view?usp=sharing