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{{Short description|American artist (1946–2015)}} {{Infobox artist | name = Chris Burden | image = Chris_Burden.jpg | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1946|04|11|mf=y}} | birth_place = [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]], U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|2015|05|10|1946|04|11|mf=y}} | death_place = [[Topanga Canyon]], [[California]], U.S. | movement = | spouse = {{plainlist| * {{marriage|Barbara Burden|1967|1976|end=divorced}}<ref name="Barbara"/> * [[Nancy Rubins]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kennedy|first1=Randy|title=The Balance of a Career|work=The New York Times |date=6 September 2013 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/08/arts/design/chris-burdens-feats-of-art-are-to-fill-the-new-museum.html}}</ref> }} | awards = | patrons = | imagesize = | field = [[Performance art]], [[installation art]], [[sculpture]] | training = [[Pomona College]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br>[[University of California, Irvine]] ([[Master of Fine Arts|MFA]]) | works = }} '''Christopher Lee Burden''' (April 11, 1946 – May 10, 2015) was an American artist working in [[performance art]], [[sculpture]], and [[installation art]]. Burden became known in the 1970s for his performance art works, including ''[[Shoot (Burden)|Shoot]]'' (1971), where he arranged for a friend to shoot him in the arm with a small-caliber rifle. A prolific artist, Burden created many well-known installations, public artworks, and sculptures before his death in 2015. == Early life and career == Burden was born in [[Boston]] in 1946 to Robert Burden, an engineer, and Rhoda Burden, a biologist.<ref name="Margalit Fox 2015">Margalit Fox (May 11, 2015), [https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/12/arts/chris-burden-a-conceptualist-with-scars-dies-at-69.html Chris Burden, a Conceptualist With Scars, Dies at 69] ''[[The New York Times]]''</ref><ref name="nytimes.com">[[Roberta Smith]] (October 3, 2013), [https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/04/arts/design/chris-burden-extreme-measures-at-the-new-museum.html The Stuff of Building and Destroying: 'Chris Burden: Extreme Measures,' at the New Museum] ''The New York Times''</ref> He grew up in [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]], France and Italy.<ref name="newyorker.com">[[Peter Schjeldahl]] (May 14, 2007), [http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/artworld/2007/05/14/070514craw_artworld_schjeldahl Performance: Chris Burden and the limits of art] ''[[The New Yorker]]''.</ref> At the age of 12, Burden had emergency surgery, performed without anesthesia, on his left foot after he was severely injured in a motor-scooter crash on the island of [[Elba]]. During the long convalescence that followed, he became deeply interested in [[visual art]], particularly photography.<ref name="Margalit Fox 2015"/> He studied for his B.A. in visual arts, physics and architecture at [[Pomona College]] in 1965–1969<ref>{{cite web|accessdate=11 August 2022|title=Chris Burden|url=https://www.theartstory.org/artist/burden-chris/}}</ref> and received his MFA at the [[University of California, Irvine]]—where his teachers included [[Robert Irwin (artist)|Robert Irwin]]<ref name="newyorker.com"/>—from 1969 to 1971.<ref name=gagosian>Gagosian Gallery website. http://www.gagosian.com/artists/chris-burden/. Retrieved 25 May 2010.</ref> == Work == === Early performance art === Burden began to work in performance art in the early 1970s. He made a series of controversial performances in which the idea of personal danger as artistic expression was central. His first significant performance work, ''[[Five Day Locker Piece]]'' (1971), was created for his master's thesis at the University of California, Irvine,<ref name="Margalit Fox 2015"/> and involved his being locked in a locker for five days.<ref name=WorkEthic>[https://books.google.com/books?id=XcAGVtDLBpMC&dq=%22chris+burden%22+%22honest+labor%22&pg=PA115 Work Ethic], by Helen Anne Molesworth, M. Darsie Alexander, Julia Bryan-Wilson, Baltimore Museum of Art, Des Moines Art Center, Wexner Center for the Arts; published 2003 by [[Penn State Press]]</ref> His 1973 work ''[[747 (performance art)|747]]'' involved the artist firing several pistol shots directly at a Boeing 747 passenger jet plane while it took off from Los Angeles International Airport. The piece had a single witness, photographer Terry McDonnell, who filmed the act.{{citation needed|date=January 2022}} His best-known work from that time is perhaps the 1971 performance piece ''[[Shoot (Burden)|Shoot]]'', in which he was shot in his left arm by an assistant from a distance of about {{convert|5|m|ft|spell=in|order=flip}} with a .22 rifle.<ref name=gagosian /><ref name=kastner>{{cite news |last=Kastner |first=Jeffrey |title=Gun Shy |date=January 1, 2005 |url=http://artforum.com/diary/id=8299 |work=Artforum |access-date=2007-02-17}}</ref> Other performances from the 1970s included ''Deadman'' (1972), in which Burden lay on the ground covered with a canvas sheet and a set of road flares until bystanders assumed he was dead and called emergency services (leading to his arrest);<ref name=NYTimes1973>[https://www.nytimes.com/1973/09/02/archives/he-got-shotfor-his-art-art-in-california-he-got-shotfor-his-art.html Art in California], in ''[[The New York Times]]'', published September 2, 1973; retrieved April 10, 2019</ref> ''Match Piece'' (1972) (also known as ''Match''),<ref name=NYTimes1973/> in which Burden launched lit matches at a naked woman lying between him and a set of two televisions in a room covered with butcher paper (1972);<ref>McMahon, Paul (October 12, 2010). [http://www.eastofborneo.org/articles/in-the-front-row-for-chris-burdens-emmatch-pieceem-1972 "In the Front Row for Chris Burden's Match Piece, 1972"], in the ''Pomona Daily Collegian'', archived at ''[[East of Borneo (magazine)|East of Borneo]]''; retrieved 2011-12-15</ref> ''B.C. Mexico'' (1973), in which he kayaked to a desolate beach in [[Baja Mexico]] where he lived for 11 days with no food and only water;<ref name=ArtNewsObit>[http://www.artnews.com/2015/05/10/chris-burden-has-died-at-69/ Chris Burden, Cornerstone of Performance Art, Has Died at 69], by Andrew Russeth, at [[ARTnews]]; published May 10, 2015; retrieved April 10, 2019</ref> ''Fire Roll'' (1973), in which he set a pair of pants on fire and then rolled on them to extinguish them;<ref name=Exeter>[http://siteworks.exeter.ac.uk/items/show/124 SiteWorks: San Francisco performance 1969-85 - Fire Roll], at the [[University of Exeter]]</ref><ref name=WaPoExtreme>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/museums/review-chris-burden-extreme-measures/2013/12/19/d66d8b66-5c5b-11e3-bc56-c6ca94801fac_story.html Review: 'Chris Burden: Extreme Measures'], by Philip Kennicott, in [[The Washington Post]]; published December 19, 2013; retrieved April 10, 2019</ref> ''Prelude to 220, or 110'', in which he had himself bolted to a concrete floor by copper bands, next to two buckets of water that also contained live 110-volt wires;<ref name="make an ordeal">[https://www.villagevoice.com/1998/12/08/lets-make-an-ordeal/ Let's Make an Ordeal], by C. Carr, in ''[[The Village Voice]]''; published December 8, 1998; retrieved August 3, 2023</ref> ''Honest Labor'' (1979), in which he dug a large ditch;<ref name=WorkEthic/> ''Velvet Water'' (1974), in which he spent five minutes attempting to breathe water as a live audience watched;<ref name=Stillman>[https://eastofborneo.org/articles/do-you-believe-in-television-chris-burden-and-tv/ Do You Believe in Television? Chris Burden and TV], by Nick Stillman, at [[East of Borneo (magazine)|East of Borneo]]</ref> ''Do You Believe in Television'' (1976), in which he sent an audience to the third floor of a building — where television monitors showed them the ground floor — and then lit a fire on the ground floor (sources differ as to whether the monitors showed the fire, forcing the audience to realize that the screens represented reality,<ref name=Stillman/> or showed an intact ground floor, forcing them to realize that the screens ''did not'' represent reality);<ref name=PerformanceAnthology>[https://books.google.com/books?id=lu7KPDCfcXMC&dq=%22chris+burden%22+%22do+you+believe+in+television%22&pg=PA195 ''Performance Anthology''], p. 195; edited by Carl Loeffler; published 1989 by [[Last Gasp (publisher)|Last Gasp]]</ref> and ''TV Hijack'' (1972) wherein, during a live television interview to which he had brought his own camera crew, he held interviewer Phyllis Lutjeans at knifepoint and threatened to kill her if the station stopped live transmission (when asked about the incident in 2015, Lutjeans stated that Burden was a 'gentle soul', that she knew it was an art piece, and that the incident did not damage their pre-existing friendship);<ref name=Lutjeans>[https://www.scpr.org/programs/offramp/2015/05/13/42817/rip-chris-burden-beloved-even-by-the-victim-in-tv/ RIP Chris Burden, beloved even by the 'victim' in 'TV Hi-Jack'], by John Rabe, at Southern California Public Radio; published May 13, 2015; retrieved April 10, 2019</ref> to conclude the piece, he demanded to be given the station's recording of the incident, which he then destroyed.<ref name=TVHijackMetMuseum>[https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/284248 TV Hijack. February 9, 1972], by Chris Burden, at the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]]; retrieved April 10, 2019</ref> [[File:Chris_Burden's_"TV_Hijack".jpg|thumb|left|upright|Still from ''TV Hijack'', February 9, 1972, Channel 3 Cablevision, Irvine, California]] One of Burden's most reproduced and cited pieces, ''[[Trans-Fixed]]'' took place on April 23, 1974, at Speedway Avenue in [[Venice, California]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Chris Burden|year=1995|publisher=Blocnotes Editions|isbn=2-910949-00-1|pages=131|author=Chris Burden|author-link=Chris Burden}}</ref> For this performance, Burden lay face up on a [[Volkswagen Beetle]] and had nails hammered into both of his hands, as if he were being crucified on the car. The car was pushed out of the garage and the engine revved for two minutes before being pushed back into the garage.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.virtualvenice.info/visual/burden.htm | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20051025184955/http://www.virtualvenice.info/visual/burden.htm | url-status = usurped | archive-date = October 25, 2005 | title = Chris Burden at Virtual Venice | access-date = 6 August 2011}}</ref> Later that year, Burden performed his piece ''White Light/White Heat'' at the Ronald Feldman Gallery in New York City. For this work of experiment performance and self-inflicting danger, Burden spent twenty-two days lying on a triangular platform in the corner of the gallery. He was out of sight from all viewers and he could not see them either. According to Burden, he did not eat, talk, or come down the entire time.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.feldmangallery.com/pages/exhsolo/exhbur75.html |title=White Light/White Heat February 8 – March 1, 1975 |access-date=December 14, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110125121933/http://www.feldmangallery.com/pages/exhsolo/exhbur75.html |archive-date=January 25, 2011 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref> Several of Burden's other performance pieces were considered controversial at the time: another "danger piece" was ''Doomed'' (1975), in which Burden lay motionless in a gallery at the [[Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago]] under a {{convert|5|x|8|ft|abbr=on}} slanted sheet of glass near a running wall clock.<ref>{{cite book|title=Chris Burden|year=1995|publisher=Blocnotes Editions|isbn=2-910949-00-1|pages=133|author=Chris Burden|author-link=Chris Burden}}</ref><ref name=Ebert>[https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/chris-burden-my-god-are-they-going-to-leave-me-here-to-die Chris Burden: "My God, are they going to leave me here to die?"], by [[Roger Ebert]]; originally published in the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'', May 25, 1975; archived at RogerEbert.com; retrieved April 10, 2019</ref> Burden planned to remain in that position until a museum employee prioritized his well-being over the artistic integrity of the piece. After 40 hours, the museum staff consulted physicians. 5 hours and 10 minutes after that, museum employee Dennis O'Shea placed a pitcher of water within Burden's reach, at which point Burden rose, smashed the glass, and took a hammer to the clock, thus ending the piece.<ref>[http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/artworld/2007/05/14/070514craw_artworld_schjeldahl "Chris Burden and the limits of art,"] by Peter Schjeldahl. ''The New Yorker'', May 14, 2007.</ref> By the end of the 1970s, Burden turned instead to vast engineered sculptural installations.<ref name="Margalit Fox 2015"/> In 1975, he created the fully operational ''B-Car'', a lightweight four-wheeled vehicle that he described as being "able to travel 100 miles per hour and achieve 100 [[Fuel efficiency|miles per gallon]]" ({{convert|100|mph|km/h|abbr=on|disp=out}} and {{convert|100|mpgus|km/L|abbr=on|disp=out}}).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.frieze.com/issue/article/survival_kit/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517022651/http://www.frieze.com/issue/article/survival_kit/|url-status=dead|title=1996 review of Burden's MAK retrospective|archive-date=May 17, 2008}}</ref> Some of his other works from that period are ''DIECIMILA'' (1977), a facsimile of an Italian 10,000 [[Italian lira|Lira]] note, possibly the first fine art print that (like paper money) is printed on both sides of the paper; ''The Speed of Light Machine'' (1983), in which he reconstructed a scientific experiment with which to "see" the speed of light; and the installation ''C.B.T.V.'' (1977), a reconstruction of the first ever made [[Mechanical television]]. Burden was awarded a [[Guggenheim Fellowship]]<ref>{{Cite web | url = https://www.gf.org/fellows/chris-burden/ | title =Chris Burden - John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation | website = www.gf.org | access-date = 2024-06-14 }}</ref> for Fine Arts in 1978. In 1978, he became a professor at [[University of California, Los Angeles]], a position from which he resigned in 2005 due to a controversy over the university's alleged mishandling of a student's classroom performance piece that echoed one of Burden's own performance pieces.<ref name=kastner /> Burden cited the performance in his letter of resignation, saying that the student should have been suspended during the investigation into whether school safety rules had been violated.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Seven Days in the Art World|author=Sarah Thornton|author-link=Sarah Thornton|date=2 November 2009|isbn=9780393337129|location=New York|oclc=489232834}}</ref> The performance allegedly involved a loaded gun, but authorities were unable to substantiate this.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-jan-22-me-profs22-story.html|title=2 Artists Quit UCLA Over Gun Incident|first=Mike|last=Boehm|date=22 January 2005|access-date=26 January 2019|via=LA Times}}</ref> In 1979, Burden first exhibited his notable ''Big Wheel'' exhibition at [[Rosamund Felsen Gallery]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.getty.edu/pacificstandardtime/explore-the-era/people/chris-burden/|title=Chris Burden»Pacific Standard Time at the Getty|website=Pacific Standard Time at the Getty|access-date=26 January 2019}}</ref> It was later exhibited in 2009 at the [[Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles]].<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-nov-11-et-bigwheel11-story.html | work=Los Angeles Times | first=Susan | last=Carpenter | title=MOCA revs up Chris Burden's 'Big Wheel' | date=11 November 2009}}</ref> In 1980, he produced ''The Atomic Alphabet'' – a giant, poster-sized hand-colored lithograph – and performed the text dressed in leather and punctuating each letter with an angry stomp.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://daddytypes.com/2009/06/06/chris_burdens_atomic_alphabet.php|title=Chris Burden's Atomic Alphabet – Daddy Types|website=daddytypes.com|access-date=26 January 2019}}</ref> Twenty editions of the work were produced and are largely in the possession of museums, including [[SFMOMA]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sfmoma.org/explore/collection/artwork/92 |title=SFMOMA |access-date=2012-08-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327221420/http://www.sfmoma.org/explore/collection/artwork/92 |archive-date=2014-03-27 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and the [[Whitney Museum of American Art]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://whitney.org/Education/Families|title=Families|website=whitney.org|access-date=26 January 2019}}</ref> 1988's ''Samson'' was a 100-ton [[hydraulic jack]] which was connected to a turnstile such that, with each guest who entered the Newport Harbor Art Museum, timbers were rammed into the museum's supporting walls,<ref name=Feared>[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-05-14-me-2761-story.html It Was Feared That Samson Might Topple the Museum], by Cathy Curtis, at the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''; published May 14, 1988; retrieved October 8, 2018</ref> meaning that "if enough people entered the museum, it would collapse". The exhibit was forcibly disassembled by the local fire department after a complaint that it was blocking a [[fire exit]].<ref name=Shorn>[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-05-24-ca-3272-story.html Museum Shorn of 'Samson' Exhibition], by Cathy Curtis, at the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''; published May 24, 1988; retrieved October 8, 2018</ref> In 2008, Burden reported having subsequently sold ''Samson'' to "a collector in Brazil".<ref name=SamsonVogue>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080530025739/http://www.mensvogue.com/arts/feature/articles/2008/06/burden Structural Integrity], by Eric Banks, in ''[[Men's Vogue]]'', June 2008; retrieved via [[archive.org]], April 23, 2019</ref> === Later work === [[File:Metropolis II-Chris Burden-LACMA-720.webm|200px| thumb|upright=2|''[[Metropolis II (sculpture)|Metropolis II]]'' (2011) kinetic art project by Chris Burden. At LACMA filmed March 16, 2013.]] Many of Chris Burden's later sculptures are intricate installations and structures consisting of many small parts.<ref name="nytimes.com"/> ''A Tale of Two Cities'' (1981) was inspired by the artist's fascination with war toys, bullets, model buildings, antique soldiers, and a fantasy about the twenty-fifth century – a time when he imagines the world will have returned to a system of feudal states. The room-filling miniature reconstruction of two such city-states, poised for war, incorporates 5,000 war toys from the United States, Japan, and Europe – on a {{convert|1,100|sqfoot|sqm|adj=mid}}, {{convert|20|short ton|tonne|adj=mid}}<ref name="nytimes.com"/> sand base surrounded by a "jungle" made of houseplants.<ref>[http://www.ocma.net/index.html?page=past&show=exhibit&e_id=2114 Chris Burden: A Tale of Two Cities, February 3 – June 10, 2007] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131008202102/http://www.ocma.net/index.html?page=past&show=exhibit&e_id=2114 |date=October 8, 2013 }} [[Orange County Museum of Art]], Newport Beach.</ref> The gallery-sized installation ''All the Submarines of the United States of America'' (1987) consists of 625 identical, small, handmade, painted-cardboard models that represent the entire [[Submarines in the United States Navy|United States submarine fleet]] dating from the late 1890s, when submarines entered the navy's arsenal, to the late 1980s.<ref>[http://dallasmuseumofart.org:9090/emuseum/view/objects/asitem/1071/28/title-asc?t:state:flow=ea8116dd-f845-4b68-a08e-0889cba5f838 Chris Burden, ''All the Submarines of the United States of America'' (1987)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005040322/http://dallasmuseumofart.org:9090/emuseum/view/objects/asitem/1071/28/title-asc?t%3Astate%3Aflow=ea8116dd-f845-4b68-a08e-0889cba5f838 |date=October 5, 2013 }} [[Dallas Museum of Art]], Dallas.</ref> He suspended the cardboard models on monofilaments from the ceiling, placing them at various heights so that as a group they appear to be a school of fish swimming through the ocean of the gallery space.<ref name="nytimes.com"/> In 1992, he exhibited his ''Fist of Light'' during the [[Whitney Biennial]] exhibition in New York. It consisted of a sealed kitchen-sized metal box with hundreds of metal halide lamps burning inside. It required an industrial air conditioner to cool the room. ''Hell Gate'' (1998), is a {{convert|28|ft|m|adj=mid|-long}} scale model, in Erector and Meccano pieces and wood, of the dramatic steel-and-concrete railroad bridge that crosses the [[Hell Gate]] segment of the East River, between Queens and Wards Island.<ref name="newyorker.com"/> In 1999, Burden's sculpture ''When Robots Rule: The Two Minute Airplane Factory'' was shown at the [[Tate Gallery]] in London. It was a "factory-like assembly line which manufactures rubber-band-powered model aeroplanes from tissue paper, plastic and balsa wood". Each plane had a propeller powered by a rubber band, and when each was completed, at a rate of one every 2 minutes,<ref name="Art Metropole Store">{{cite web |url=http://www.artmetropole.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=shop.FA_dsp_browse_details&InventoryUnitsID=4980f561-0b21-4c4f-84e1-027400b36f67&CategoryID=33c7e129-4f29-481b-a111-a4d511fdc844&sale= |title=Chris Burden, When Robots Rule: The Two-Minute Airplane Factory, exhibition catalogue |work=Store |publisher=Art Metropole |access-date=24 November 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100916060306/http://www.artmetropole.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=shop.FA_dsp_browse_details&InventoryUnitsID=4980f561-0b21-4c4f-84e1-027400b36f67&CategoryID=33c7e129-4f29-481b-a111-a4d511fdc844&sale= |archive-date=16 September 2010 }}</ref> the machine launched it to fly up and circle around the gallery.<ref name="artmag.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.artmag.com/museums/a_greab/agblsta/agblsta4.html |title=Chris Burden |publisher=artmag.com |access-date=24 November 2010}}</ref> Unfortunately, the machine was non-functional for at least two months of the installation, leading ''World Sculpture News'' to question the intent of the piece and remark that "the work illustrated that robots, in fact, don't rule everything, and for the time being, are still subjected to individual and groups shortcomings".<ref>Preece, R.J. (1999). [http://www.artdesigncafe.com/chris-burden-tate-gallery-1999 "Chris Burden at the Tate Gallery"]. ''World Sculpture News'' / ''artdesigncafe''.</ref><ref>Jones, J. (15 November 2011). [https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2011/nov/15/art-doesnt-need-normal-service-to-resume "Tacita Dean's artwork malfunction"]. ''The Guardian''.</ref> First presented at the [[Istanbul Biennial]] in 2001, ''Nomadic Folly'' (2001) consists of a large wooden deck made of Turkish cypress and four huge umbrellas. Visitors can relax and linger in this tent-like structure, replete with opulent handmade carpets, braided ropes, hanging glass and metal lamps, and wedding fabrics embroidered with sparkling threads and traditional patterns.<ref name="gagosian.com">[http://www.gagosian.com/exhibitions/february-13-2010--chris-burden The Heart: Open or Closed, February 13 – March 27, 2010] [[Gagosian Gallery]], Rome.</ref> In 2005, Burden released ''Ghost Ship'', his crewless, self-navigating yacht which docked at [[Newcastle-upon-Tyne]] on 28 July after a {{convert|330|miles|km|adj=mid}} 5-day trip from [[Fair Isle]], near Shetland. The project was commissioned by the company Locus+ at a cost of £150,000, and was funded with a significant grant from [[Arts Council England]],<ref>[http://www.fairisle.org.uk/Latest/Ghost%20Ship%20press%20rel.pdf "Ghost Ship"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717201404/http://www.fairisle.org.uk/Latest/Ghost%20Ship%20press%20rel.pdf |date=2011-07-17 }} at www.fairisle.org.uk</ref> being designed and constructed with the help of the Marine Engineering Department of the [[University of Southampton]].<ref>[http://www.soton.ac.uk/ses/news/2005/july/13July2005.shtml "Ghost Ship – a new commissioned work by Chris Burden"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070921181820/http://www.soton.ac.uk/ses/news/2005/july/13July2005.shtml |date=September 21, 2007 }}, Locus+, University of Southampton news release, 13 July 2005</ref> It is said to be controlled via onboard computers and a GPS system; however, in case of emergency the ship is 'shadowed' by an accompanying support boat. In 2008, Burden created ''[[Urban Light]]'', a sculptural work consisting of 202 found antique street lights that had once stood around Los Angeles. He bought the lights from the contractor who installed Urban Light, Anna Justice.<ref name="Chris Burden, Urban Light">{{cite web|title=Chris Burden, Urban Light|url=http://collectionsonline.lacma.org/mwebcgi/mweb.exe?request=record;id=161897;type=101|work=LACMA Collections|access-date=November 22, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111124214406/http://collectionsonline.lacma.org/mwebcgi/mweb.exe?request=record;id=161897;type=101|archive-date=November 24, 2011|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref> The work is on view outside of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the solar-powered lights are illuminated at dusk.<ref name="Chris Burden, Urban Light" /> In the summer of 2011, Burden finished his kinetic sculpture, ''[[Metropolis II (sculpture)|Metropolis II]]'',<ref>{{cite web|title=Metropolis II|url=http://www.lacma.org/about/press/metropolis-ii-0|website=as displayed at LACMA|access-date=8 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181026182704/http://www.lacma.org/about/press/metropolis-ii-0|archive-date=26 October 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Metropolis II|url=http://www.fastcodesign.com/1664409/how-chris-burden-created-metropolis-ii-a-tiny-city-where-1100-toy-cars-zoom|website=How Chris Burden Created Metropolis II, A Tiny City Where 1,100 Toy Cars Zoom|access-date=8 May 2016}}</ref> which took four years to build. It was installed at [[LACMA]] in Fall 2011.<ref name=lacma>{{cite web | url = https://lacma.wordpress.com/2010/11/22/chris-burdens-metropolis-ii-on-its-way-to-lacma/ | title = Chris Burden's Metropolis II on Its Way to LACMA | date = 22 November 2010 | publisher = Los Angeles County Museum of Art | access-date = 6 August 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llacDdn5yIE& | title = Metropolis II by Chris Burden (the movie) | publisher = youtube.com | access-date = 6 August 2011}}</ref> "Chris Burden's Metropolis II is an intense kinetic sculpture, modeled after a fast-paced, frenetic modern city."<ref>{{cite web|title=Metropolis II|url=http://www.lacma.org/art/exhibition/metropolis-ii|website=- what it is|access-date=8 May 2016}}</ref> Suspended from opposite ends of a telescoping [[balance beam]] of velvety rusted steel are a restored bright yellow 1974 [[Porsche]] sports car and a small meteorite. ''Porsche With Meteorite'' (2013) balances perfectly, with the heavier car much closer to the vertical support.<ref name="nytimes.com"/> ''Light of Reason'' was commissioned by [[Brandeis University]] in 2014 and stands outside the [[Rose Art Museum]] on campus.<ref name="BrandeisNow">{{cite news |last1=Bencks |first1=Jarret |title=Chris Burden, 'One of the greatest American artists of his generation' |url=http://www.brandeis.edu/now/2015/may/burden-bedford.html |access-date=11 August 2018 |publisher=Brandeis University |date=11 May 2015}}</ref> The sculpture consists of three rows of 24 [[Victorian architecture|Victorian]] lamp posts which point away from the museum's entrance.<ref name="BrandeisNow" /> The sculpture serves as a gateway and outdoor event space, and has become a campus landmark.<ref name="LOR">{{cite web |title=Chris Burden, Light of Reason |url=https://www.brandeis.edu/rose/lightofreason/index.html |website=Rose Art Museum |access-date=11 August 2018}}</ref><ref name="BrandeisNow" /> Burden's last completed project – a working [[dirigible]] that flies in perfect circles called ''Ode to [[Alberto Santos-Dumont|Santos Dumont]]'' after the pioneering Brazilian aviator – was unveiled at a private [[Gagosian Gallery]] event outside of Los Angeles shortly before his death<ref>Jorin Finkel (May 11, 2015), [http://178.23.169.98/news/obituary/155657/ Remembering Chris Burden, the artist who traded daredevil performances for daring engineering] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518103435/http://178.23.169.98/news/obituary/155657/ |date=2015-05-18 }} ''[[The Art Newspaper]]''.</ref> and later installed as a tribute at [[LACMA]].<ref name="Inside Chris Burden's briefcase">Julia Halperin (May 13, 2015), [http://theartnewspaper.com/reports/155713/ Inside Chris Burden's briefcase]{{Dead link|date=August 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} ''[[The Art Newspaper]]''.</ref> Also, the [[New Museum]] decided to have ''Twin Quasi-Legal Skyscrapers'' (2013), two 36-foot-tall towers created for the museum's retrospective on Burden, remain on the institution's roof for several months in tribute.<ref name="Inside Chris Burden's briefcase"/> At the time of his death, Burden was also working on a watermill next to [[Frank Gehry]]'s not then yet completed aluminum tower at [[LUMA Arles]], which was finished in 2021. Burden's work remained unfinished at the time of his passing as well.<ref>Jessica Gelt (May 13, 2015), [http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-frank-gehry-chris-burden-art-project-unfinished-arles-20150512-story.html Frank Gehry on Chris Burden: 'gift of the gods', plus art left unfinished] ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''.</ref> == Exhibitions == In 2013, the [[New Museum]] presented "Chris Burden: Extreme Measures", an expansive presentation of Burden's work that marked the first New York survey of the artist and his first major exhibition in the United States in over twenty-five years. Burden has also had major retrospectives at the [[Orange County Museum of Art|Newport Harbor Art Museum]], Newport Beach, California (1988), and the [[Museum für angewandte Kunst Wien|Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna]] (1996).<ref name="Chris Burden">[http://www.gagosian.com/artists/chris-burden-2 Chris Burden] [[Gagosian Gallery]].</ref> Other solo exhibitions include "14 Magnolia Doubles" at the [[South London Gallery]], London (2006); "Chris Burden" at the Baltic Center of Contemporary Art, Gateshead (2002); and "Tower of Power" at the [[mumok|Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig]], Vienna (2002).<ref name="gagosian.com"/> In 1999 Burden exhibited at the [[Venice Biennale|48th Venice Biennale]] and the [[Tate Gallery]] in London. In the summer of 2008, Burden's {{convert|65|ft|m|adj=mid|-tall}} skyscraper made of one million [[erector set]] parts, titled ''What My Dad Gave Me'', stood in front of [[Rockefeller Center]], New York City.<ref name="Chris Burden"/> == Collections == Burden's work is featured in prominent museum collections such as the [[LACMA]] and the [[Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles|Museum of Contemporary Art]], Los Angeles; the [[Whitney Museum of American Art]] and the [[Museum of Modern Art]], New York; the Tate Gallery, London; the [[Middelheim Open Air Sculpture Museum|Middelheimmuseum]], Antwerp, Belgium; the Inhotim Centro de Arte Contemporanea, Brazil; the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan; and the [[Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago|Museum of Contemporary Art]], Chicago, among others.<ref name="gagosian.com"/> == Art market == Burden was represented by Gagosian Gallery from 1991 until his death.<ref name="Chris Burden"/> In 2009, a deal that Gagosian Gallery had struck to buy $3 million in gold bricks for Burden's work ''One Ton, One Kilo''<ref>Adrienne Gaffney (March 5, 2009), [http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2009/03/gagosian-gold-held-hostage-in-ponzi-scheme-investigation Gagosian Gold Held Hostage in Ponzi-Scheme Investigation] ''[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]''.</ref> was frozen when it turned out that the bricks had been acquired from a Houston-based company owned by financier [[Allen Stanford]], who was later charged by the [[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission]]<ref>Dana Goodyear (March 23, 2009), [http://www.newyorker.com/talk/2009/03/23/090323ta_talk_goodyear#ixzz21HhEuTy3 Goldless] ''[[The New Yorker]]''.</ref> and sentenced to 110 years<ref>{{cite web|title=Former Chief Investment Officer of Stanford Financial Group Pleads Guilty to Obstruction of Justice|date=21 June 2012 |url=https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2012/June/12-crm-785.html|publisher=US Department of Justice – June 21, 2012|access-date=2012-06-26}}</ref> in prison for cheating investors out of more than $7 billion over 20 years in one of the largest Ponzi schemes in American history.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-18450893| title= Allen Stanford jailed for 110 years for $7bn Ponzi| date=14 June 2012 | work=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2012/06/14/allen-stanford-sentencing-the-arguments-from-both-sides/ | work=The Wall Street Journal | title=Allen Stanford Sentencing: The Arguments From Both Sides | date=14 June 2012}}</ref> As of 2013, the gallery's gold has been frozen while the SEC investigates Stanford and ''One Ton One Kilo'' cannot be mounted until the gold bullion is released.<ref>[http://www.gagosian.com/exhibitions/chris-burden Chris Burden: One Ton One Kilo, March 7 – April 4, 2009] [[Gagosian Gallery]], Los Angeles.</ref> == In popular culture == [[David Bowie]]'s 1977 song "[[Joe the Lion]]" was inspired by Burden's 1974 ''Trans-Fixed'', where Burden crucified himself on the roof of a Volkswagen Beetle.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k0l_cQEHV5oC&q=David+Bowie%27s+1977+song+%22Joe+the+Lion%22%2C+burden&pg=PA123|title=Hallo Spaceboy: The Rebirth of David Bowie|first=Dave|last=Thompson|date=November 16, 2010|publisher=ECW Press|isbn=9781554902712|via=Google Books}}</ref> [[Laurie Anderson]] titled her 1977 song "It's Not the Bullet that Kills You – It's the Hole (for Chris Burden)". Burden was also mentioned in the Jeff Lindsay book ''Dexter by Design'', and in [[Norman Mailer]]'s book ''The Faith of Graffiti''. The poem "Doomed (1975)" by [[David Hernandez (poet)|David Hernandez]] in his 2011 collection ''Hoodwinked''<ref>Hernandez, David ''Hoodwinked'' Sarabande Books. 2011 {{ISBN|978-1-932511-96-3}}</ref> describes the Burden installation of the same name in [[Chicago]]. In poet [[Jason Schneiderman]]'s 2020 collection ''Hold Me Tight''<ref>Schneiderman, Jason ''Hold Me Tight'' Red Hen Press. 2020 {{ISBN|978-1-597098-29-8}}</ref> there is a sequence about Burden. == Personal life == Burden was married to multi-media artist [[Nancy Rubins]].<ref name=kastner /> He lived and worked in Los Angeles, California. His studio was located in [[Topanga Canyon]].<ref name=lacma /> From 1967 to 1976, Burden was married to Barbara Burden, who documented and participated in several of his early artworks.<ref name="Barbara">{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-11-29-tm-2663-story.html|title=Unmasking Chris Burden|last1=McKenna|first1=Kristine|date=29 September 1992|access-date=21 October 2019|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> Burden died on May 10, 2015, 18 months after having been diagnosed with [[melanoma]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-chris-burden-dies-20150510-story.html|title=Chris Burden dies: Artist's light sculpture at LACMA was symbol of L.A.|last1=Knight|first1=Christopher|newspaper=LA Times|access-date=10 May 2015}}</ref> He was 69. == References == {{Reflist|2}} == External links == {{commons category}} * [https://artsandculture.google.com/entity/m01v99b Google Arts & Culture - Chris Burden] * [http://horvitz.multiplace.org/burden.html ''Chris Burden'' by Robert Horvitz – detailed overview and analysis of Burden's early work, published in the May 1976 issue of ''Artforum'' magazine] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20080517022651/http://www.frieze.com/issue/article/survival_kit/ 1996 review of Burden's MAK retrospective] * {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110211185543/http://www.ghostship.org.uk/ Ghost Ship]}} * [http://www.ubu.com/film/burden.html UbuWeb Film & Video: Chris Burden] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20080530025739/http://www.mensvogue.com/arts/feature/articles/2008/06/burden A feature article on Burden in the June 2008 issue of ''Men's Vogue''] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20111222191134/http://evilmonito.com/2008/11/18/poetic-model-a-new-criticism-of-chris-burden/ "Poetic, Model: A New Criticism Of Chris Burden via Evil Monito Magazine"] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20160303235350/http://www.mediatecaonline.net/mediatecaonline/SConsultaAutor?ope=2&ID_IDIOMA=en&criteri=Burden,+Chris Chris Burden in the Mediateca Media Art Space] * [http://pix.alaporte.net/urban-light Photos of Chris Burden's ''Urban Light'' near the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA – free to use for non-commercial purposes] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230221085403/https://pix.alaporte.net/urban-light |date=2023-02-21 }} {{Chris Burden|state=expanded}} {{Video art}} {{Performance art}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Burden, Chris}} [[Category:20th-century American artists]] [[Category:American installation artists]] [[Category:American performance artists]] [[Category:American video artists]] [[Category:Body art]] [[Category:Bioartists]] [[Category:Endurance artists]] [[Category:Performance art in Los Angeles]] [[Category:American postmodern artists]] [[Category:21st-century American sculptors]] [[Category:American male sculptors]] [[Category:1946 births]] [[Category:2015 deaths]] [[Category:Artists from Boston]] [[Category:Sculptors from California]] [[Category:Pomona College alumni]] [[Category:Art in Greater Los Angeles]] [[Category:UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture faculty]] [[Category:Deaths from melanoma in California]] [[Category:Articles containing video clips]] [[Category:Sculptors from Massachusetts]] [[Category:20th-century American male artists]]
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