The Bruce Nauman exhibit was a very interesting exhibit as it provided me with feeling of discomfort as well as confusion. It seems Nauman tries to point out the flaws in life as he portrays a hand being stuffed into some’s mouth in one of his pieces. This illustration can mean many things but one idea that was really emphasized to me was the idea of suppressing one’s speech. The use of a fist evokes this feeling of violence which provides this piece with such a negative connotation. As well as this, the colors in the piece really make it stand out. There is a great contrast between the green colored head and the light skinned hand being forced into the mouth. The contrast seems to bring up the idea of different ethnicities and how they are treated as well as  social classes.

I chose this piece of work because it exemplified to me some of the current problems we are facing in society. Some of our voices are not being heard because of our social status. I find this to be degrading because everyone has a voice for a reason and by ignoring it or taking away its right to mean anything, they are nothing more than a empty vessel. Our voice is what makes who we are and how we present ourselves to others. Nauman does a clear job of illustrating how this person looks mortified and dead after his mouth is concealed with this fist. It seems Nauman’s exhibit in general portrayed this theme of confinement in some sort of form either physically or mentally. It really puts into perspective how we as humans might need confinement to reevaluate ourselves. In other words, the negative connotation surrounding the word, “confinement”, might not be as accurate according to Nauman’s work.