My Name as Though It Were Written on the Surface of the Moon 1968

Bruce Nauman made this piece with blue neon tubing to conjure an impossible scenario. How could you write on the moon? The blue light is so immersive, so saturated it seems to physically occupy the space around it, while the repetition of letters emphasizes the graphic or abstract nature of the form. I love how the lines become more like a drawing, less like a linguistic form, as he pushes the letters into pure abstraction. Notice how Nauman starts with ‘b’ and moves through the alphabet to ‘c’ before ending with those gorgeous looping ‘e’s, like the tail of a comet. The systematic approach reminds me of Sol Lewitt’s structures, but Nauman brings so much humor and lightness. In that way, it’s very bebop. It swings!