When I come across an artist that really strikes me- for good or for bad- I usually throw myself into their life and work to try and get a handle on what they’re all about. Especially if they have garnered a considerable amount of critical acclaim- which Mr. Burden has. So first here’s a quick re-hash of some of his performance pieces:
5 Day Locker Piece- “University of California, Irvine, April 26-30, 1971: I was locked in Locker Number 5 for five consecutive days and did not leave the locker during this time. The locker measured two feet high, two feet wide, and three feet deep. I stopped eating several days prior to entry. The locker directly above me contained five gallons of bottled water; the locker below me contained an empty five gallon bottle.”
Shoot- Probably his most famous piece where he had a friend shoot him in the arm with a .22 rifle. Want to see it? It was filmed. The video starts out with just a black screen while the artist talks about the piece (very quietly)- then all the action happens in the final 8 seconds.
Through the Night Softly- “Main Street, Los Angeles, September 12,1973: Holding my hands behind my back , I crawled through fifty feet of broken glass.”Kunst Kick- During an Art Fair in Basel, Switzerland, Burden was kicked down a flight of stairs.
Doorway to Heaven-“November 15, 1973: At 6 pm I stood in the doorway of my studio facing the Venice Boardwalk, a few spectators watched as I pushed two live electric wires into my chest. The wires crossed and exploded, burning me but saving me from electrocution.”Proponents of modern and contemporary art- including the artists themselves- often shy away from saying what artworks ‘mean’, insisting that the important thing is what it means to the viewer- a very relativistic stance befitting our pluralistic society. And while that approach has merit, I am particularly interested in the artist’s ‘platform’ - what was the perspective and the process of thinking that led to this ‘artistic conclusion’ that is the work of art? Certainly certain works have a special meaning to me regardless of the artist’s intent, but I usually like to qualify my own feelings with the artist’s intent. Chris Burden’s work is a case in point. I’m certain that he had no thought of Christian parallels in his work, which are some of the meanings they hold to me, but I couldn’t arrive at my own meanings without first delving into what he thought and was attempting to achieve.
So here are some things that Chris Burden said in relation to his work:
“I don’t think I’m trying to commit suicide. I think my art is an inquiry, which is what all art is about. “
“One thing that sort of bothers me is that a lot of people remember the Shoot piece and some of the violent pieces, and then ignore the reason for it all, the whole thing that ties it all together. They get carried away with ‘There’s this guy who had himself shot!’ They don’t go to the next step and wonder why I would want to do that, or what my reasons are.”
“I never feel like I’m taking risks. What the pieces are about is what is going to happen. Danger and pain are a catalyst- to hype things up. That’s important. The object is to see how I can deal with them. The fear is a lot worse than the actual deed.“
“It was more like a kind of mental experience for me- to see how I would deal with the mental aspect- like knowing that at 7:30 you’re going to stand in a room and a guy’s going to shoot you. I’d set it up by telling a bunch of people, and that would make it happen. It was almost like setting up fate or something, in a real controlled way. The violence part really wasn’t that important, it was just a crux to make all the mental stuff happen… The anticipation, how you dealt with the anticipation.”
The clincher was his resolution to do it- and how that dictated his actions until that decision reached its culmination. At the time I read that quote I was going through a study of the book of Luke. In Luke 9:51 it states that Jesus ‘resolutely set out for Jerusalem.’ And it hit me- Jesus made the decision and it dictated His actions throughout his life and ministry.
Pause for a little art history background. In the mid to late ‘60s there were a group of artists, often referred to as ‘Post-Minimalists,’ who were engaged in making ‘Process Art.’ Jackson Pollock had somewhat initiated the idea of ‘acting’ upon the canvas- with his splashes, drips, and splatters- rather than just painting a picture. So these ‘Process Artists’ extended that line of thinking into sculpture by taking materials and subjecting them to some sort of ‘process’ or action and the resulting change in the appearance or nature of the material would be the final product. So instead of trying to make something, artists – in the activist spirit of the ‘60s- did something, and the artwork was a result of that action or activity. Now let’s extend the concept of material a bit- from a physical substance to something that is mental or emotional. The human figure has all the physical properties of any other material- density, mass, texture, color, etc. But it also has a psychological aspect to it that a piece of metal or wood does not have. So I think what Chris Burden was doing was an extension of this concept- what process or activity could he do that would bear upon the psychological and emotional aspects of the ‘material’ of the human figure?
So with that thought in mind I think of verses like Luke 12:50 – “But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed.” Similarly, in Matt. 26:38 Jesus exclaims, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.” In contemplating Chris Burden’s ‘experiment’ on the properties of his ‘psychical material,’ I was actually given more insight into these statements by Jesus.
If you suspend your judgment that Chris Burden is insane, and instead look at the weight these actions he performed would place on him, mentally and emotionally, you can get a different sense of things. What would it take to go through with the things he went through? And what sort of resolve, control, or sense of power would one need to submit to these physical and mental tortures?
And now think of Jesus.
What would it take to be able to make the decision He made, and go through the things that He did? For me, it makes His sacrifice all the more profound. And God revealed that to me…through Chris Burden’s art.
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