Violent Incident-Man/Women Segment
1986
Installation, 00:00:28.
Materials: VHS
Collection: Collection M HKA, Antwerp / Donated by Bonami-Brottman, 1992 (Inv. no. S0061).
This fragment of a video from Bruce Nauman's installation Violent Incident lasts a mere 28 seconds. The larger work consists of twelve screens, which form a single wall; the screens themselves display twelve defining moments of a romantic candlelit dinner. Partially comical and partially biting, this piece illustrates how easily domestic tensions can escalate to unbearable levels. This tension between humour and malice tells us something about the contradictoriness inherent to human nature, which is an important catalyst in Nauman’s work.