Studies for Holograms (a) 1970

Editor: This is Bruce Nauman's "Studies for Holograms (a)," from 1970. It’s a photographic print, and the close-up of the mouth being manipulated by hands is… unsettling. What do you see in this piece, beyond the immediate visceral reaction? Curator: The immediate tension you feel is precisely where the power resides. This image is rich in symbolism, connecting to ideas about the body as a site of control, or lack thereof. Notice the colour choice; the sickly yellow casts a strange light. Doesn't it remind you of the colours used in old religious icons or alchemical illustrations? Editor: That's interesting! I was focused on the sense of constraint, but now that you mention it, there is an unnatural quality to the color, like decay or transmutation…almost like a mask. Curator: Precisely. Nauman's choice invokes the cultural memory we have of the body undergoing a change, transformation, perhaps even torture. Think of saints' iconography and you can discern links with bodily manipulation used as symbolic of a deeper spiritual agony, or conversely, transcendence. What is being communicated when we are gagged? Is it the ultimate expression of repression or an invocation to a more profound spiritual awakening? Editor: I hadn’t considered those older traditions, but I see what you mean. The hands, the colour... suddenly it's not just about physical restraint, but almost a symbolic silencing, laden with history. The hologram aspect suggests, I suppose, that the symbolism may be a projection, a modern icon or ritual, perhaps? Curator: Absolutely. By situating this study within "holograms", it’s projected outwardly like memory which further strengthens and amplifies a multi-layered cultural and psychological response. This work highlights continuity across epochs of symbolism of constraint from time of the Ancient Greek Tragedies to our media influenced lives today. Editor: I'll definitely think about the broader history of symbolic representation now. Curator: Me too, in all great art you'll find history repeating and reshaping!