The Work

Bruce Nauman’s Having Fun/Good Life, Symptoms, found at the Carnegie Mellon Museum of Art, is characterized by two large spirals made up of flashing neon words. The right spiral asserts: “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.” And the left one reads a list 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.” Each phrase has its own color and is made up of two layers of neon lights. I chose this work because its color and neon-ness seemed playful and drew my gaze.