Chris Burden

Not too many people know about Chris Burden. He's been around in the art world for decades now, and I rather like what I know of his work. Back in the '70s his career centered on various life-threatening performance stunts. He electrocuted himself, got shot, etc. During the '80s he did this far less personally painful piece:


All the Submarines of the United States of America, represented in miniature and hanging from the gallery ceiling. It is an impressive piece, one that even my husband likes. During the late '90s, Burden worked with Erector Sets: sketching, constructing, and photographing. Fun and an interesting continuation of the earlier theme.

I'm interested in Burdon right now because of the whole self-destruction thing he was into in the beginning. I've been looking for critical writings about that phase and I admit, I haven't gotten anywhere yet.