Bruce Nauman's New Work Is Up in the Air

Pasadena parkgoers recently witnessed an art exhibition forty years in the making, though it unfortunately went over most of their heads. Bruce Nauman conceived a sky-writing piece in his Raymond Avenue studio in 1969, but did not put it into fruition until this past week when a small airplane buzzed into California’s clear blue mid-morning sky, emitting dashes of white smoke until spelling out “LEAVE THE LAND ALONE.” With that, Nauman, who pioneered the use of text in artwork and began his career as an environmental sculpture, launched “Installations Inside/Out,” a 20th anniversary exhibition of installation art at Pasadena's Armory Center for the Arts, which will run from September 20 to December 31.