BALTIMORE, MD – To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Bruce Nauman’s iconic Violins Violence Silence neon sculpture and the 100th anniversary of the Museum in 2014, the BMA’s Friends of Modern and Contemporary Art (FoMaCA) have organized a series of events as part of their Illuminate campaign to raise the $120,000 needed to restore the beacon-like presence of this 20th-century masterpiece to the BMA and the city of Baltimore.
Violins Violence Silence by renowned contemporary American artist Bruce Nauman is the artist’s first public neon work. It came to the BMA as a gift of the artist’s galleries in recognition of the Museum’s 1982 pioneering exhibition of the artist’s work in that medium, and has shone brightly on the side of the BMA’s East Wing since 1984. Time and natural wear and tear have taken their toll on the piece over the years, leading to the work’s removal in fall 2013. In consultation with the Bruce Nauman studio and the BMA’s conservation and curatorial staff, the sculpture is being re-fabricated with more up-to-date and durable neon technology. (Visit Flickr to see dramatic images of this monumental work being deinstalled.)
FoMaCA has already raised more than 50 percent of the total need funds and are poised to meet their goal to have the piece restored and reinstalled by fall 2014. The first Illuminate event will be held on Thursday, January 23, at the one-of-a-kind Bolton Hill home of artist Lat Naylor and his wife Barbara. A second event featuring a panel of internationally renowned curators who have worked with Nauman is planned for mid-June. Call Helene Grabow at 443-573-1763 for more details and tickets.