Bruce Nauman's corridors

Corridor with Mirror and White Lights 1971

Wood and glassobject: 3048 x 178 x 12192 mm sculpture

In his corridor pieces, Nauman's sculpture assumes the dimensions of architecture. The spaces in these corridors are often claustrophobic yet they seem to extend infinitely, like a corridor seen in a dream. In this piece, the extension of space is achieved by the placement of a mirror set at an angle at the end of the corridor. Some of Nauman's corridors are areas in which he or the viewer performs by entering the space. This is impossible here; the width of the corridor has been narrowed to make entrance impossible, thereby heightening the sense of eerie isolation in the piece. (TATE: From the display caption August 2004)