Chris Burden

File:Metropolis II-Chris Burden-LACMA-720.webm

American artist known for his performance, sculpture, and installation art

Chris Burden

Name	Chris Burden
Birth name
Birth date	(1946-04-11)April 11, 1946
Birth place	Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Death date	May 10, 2015(2015-05-10) (aged 69)
Death place	Topanga, California, U.S.
Alma mater
Occupation
Years active
Organization
Known for	Performance art, sculpture, installation art
Notable works	Shoot, Trans-Fixed, Urban Light
Spouse(s)
Website

Christopher Lee Burden (April 11, 1946 – May 10, 2015) was an American artist known for his work in performance art, sculpture, and installation art. His work often explored themes of personal danger, physical endurance, and the limits of the human body.

Early Life and Education

Chris Burden was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He attended Pomona College in Claremont, California, where he earned a B.A. in visual arts, physics, and architecture in 1969. He later received an M.F.A. from the University of California, Irvine in 1971.

Career

Burden's early work in the 1970s was characterized by a series of controversial and often dangerous performances. One of his most famous pieces, Shoot (1971), involved Burden being shot in the arm by an assistant from a distance of about five meters. This piece is often cited as a seminal work in the history of performance art.

Another notable performance was Trans-Fixed (1974), in which Burden had himself crucified to the back of a Volkswagen Beetle. These early works established Burden as a leading figure in the Conceptual art and Performance art movements.

Later Work

In the 1980s and 1990s, Burden shifted his focus to large-scale sculpture and installation art. One of his most famous works from this period is Urban Light (2008), an installation of 202 restored street lamps arranged in a grid at the entrance of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). This piece has become an iconic symbol of Los Angeles.

Legacy

Chris Burden's work has been exhibited in major museums and galleries around the world, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the Tate Modern in London, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. He is remembered as a pioneering artist who pushed the boundaries of what art could be.

Personal Life

Burden was married to artist Nancy Rubins. He passed away on May 10, 2015, in Topanga, California.

Selected Works

• Shoot (1971)
• Trans-Fixed (1974)
• Urban Light (2008)
• Metropolis II (2011)

See Also

• Performance art
• Conceptual art
• Installation art
• Los Angeles County Museum of Art