American artist Bruce Nauman (born 1941) is regarded as one of the most influential artists working today. His pioneering explorations of sculpture, video, performance and environments have influenced artists internationally since the 1970s. Yet it is ideas, rather than any medium, that governs the artist's work.

Nauman studied mathematics and physics as an undergraduate: 'I didn't become a mathematician, but I think there was a certain thinking process which was very similar and which carried over into art. This investigative activity is necessary.' Frustrated by the human condition, Nauman approaches art making as if creating an ongoing series of experiments in which all the diverse areas of human activity – including written and spoken language, and physical behaviour – are tested.

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