Burden

An unprecedented look into the life of conceptual artist and sculptor Chris Burden. Chris Burden guaranteed his place in art history in the 1970s with a series of often dangerous and at times stomach-churning performances. After having himself shot in Santa Ana, confined to a locker for five days in Irvine and crucified on the back of a VW bug in Venice, Burden reinvented himself as the creator of truly mesmerizing installations and sculptures, from a suspended gigantic flywheel that seemingly spins on its own to an assemblage of illuminated, antique streetlights outside the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Urban Light (2008), which has become one of Los Angeles’ most photographed and iconic symbols. In Burden, Timothy Marrinan and Richard Dewey look at the artist’s work and private life with an innovative mix of still-potent videos of his 70s performances, personal films and audio recordings, latter-day footage at his Topanga Canyon studio and comments from friends, fellow students, colleagues and critics, all peppered with Burden’s thoughts and musings from throughout the years.