Bruce Nauman

Leo Castelli Gallery, New York
Hanson Fuller Goldeen, San Francisco
Marne and James S. DeSilva, California (acquired from the above in August 1982)
Christie's, Los Angeles, October 14, 1998, lot 104
Acquired by the present owner from the above sale

Dallas, Carol Taylor Art, Bruce Nauman, December 1980 - January 1981 (another example exhibited)
Los Angeles, Margo Leavin Gallery, American Sculpture, July - September 1984 (another example exhibited)
La Jolla, Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, Selections from the Collection of Marne and James DeSilva, March - June 1998

Aspen Center for the Visual Arts, Aspen, 1982, cat. no. 101, illustrated
Joan Simon, ed., Bruce Nauman, Minneapolis, 1994, no. 262, p. 272
Neal Benezra, et. al., Bruce Nauman: Catalogue Raisonné, Minneapolis, 1994, cat. no. 262, p. 272, illustrated

This work is in good condition overall. There is dust accumulation on the surface of the sculpture. There is a single area of cracking on the horizontal element, where one beam intersects with another. This cracking does not interfere with the structural integrity of the piece, but appears to have occurred after the bronze was originally cast. The base of the vertical element shows signs of oxidation to the surface.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Maquette for Underground Tunnels lies at the heart of Nauman’s artistic activity during the 1970s and early 1980s. During this period, Nauman focused on a series of sculptural works that undermined traditional sculptural form through his use, primarily, of wood and plaster maquettes for proposals for unrealizable underground tunnels and passages with circular or triangular sections, such as Three Dead-End Adjacent Tunnels, Not Connected, 1979, the cast iron version, formerly in the Saatchi Collection and now in the Tate Collection, Nauman’s ambition was to conceive of large structures that would have as visceral an impact as possible on as large an amount of people as possible. The cage-like metallic structure of Maquette for Underground Tunnels is typical of Nauman’s injection of angst and turmoil into the clean and refined language of Minimalist sculpture that dominated the art historical landscape at the time.

Nauman always considered the models and maquettes as the penultimate step in the final realization of something much larger. In such models and maquettes, Nauman relishes the subliminal tension between the size of a piece such as Maquette for Underground Tunnels and the scale of the ideal conception as a psychological tool: “The information about scale gives you two kinds of information: visual and physical information as well as the intellectual information which indicates that the sculpture is only a model. Immediately you begin to imagine what it would be and how you would respond to it at the proper scale.” (The artist quoted in Exh. Cat., Minneapolis, Walker Art Center, Bruce Nauman, 1994, p. 34.)

Nauman’s unorthodox sculptural methods and his inventiveness with scrap materials are both conspicuous in Maquette for Underground Tunnels, in which the artist simulated the hollow tunnels by tying and taping together discarded mailing tubes, paper-towel rolls, and various packing materials before casting the final form in bronze. One is reminded of Picasso’s assemblages such as Figure from 1935, that show similar dexterity in the transformation of discarded materials and scraps into an art work of great emotive power and impact. The ability to awaken in the viewer some discernable visceral reaction is Nauman’s chief means of engaging  the viewer and this quality is undoubtedly present in Maquette for Underground Tunnels.