Book excerpt: " The first authorized monograph on the world–famous sculptor, photographer, and video artist. In Bruce Nauman: The True Artist, Peter Plagens – a renowned writer, critic, and author who has known Nauman for more than forty years – delivers a personal and authoritative account tracing Nauman’s entire career, from his youth in Fort Wayne, Indiana, to his graduate work at the University of California, and through to the present day. Plagens first met Nauman in Pasadena, California, in 1970, where their studios were a block apart and they played basketball together every Sunday. Since then, Plagens has pursued a real understanding of his friend’s art. The book chronicles Nauman’s process, from the creation of works in his New Mexico studio to the organization, installation, and reception of his exhibitions. Throughout, Plagens is a savvy and engaging guide to the work, using his own attempts to puzzle out the meaning of the pieces, as well as the artist’s conversations about them, to offer readers a vivid and enlightening take on one of the key figures in contemporary art. "