We are delighted to announce that we are releasing the amazing Burden on 5 May. A probing portrait of Chris Burden, an artist who pushed the limits of creative expression and risked his life in the name of art. The documentary will be screening at ICA London and will also be available to watch on demand.
For more than 45 years, Chris Burden's work has consistently challenged ideas about the limits and nature of modern art. His pioneering and often dangerous performance works of the 1970s earned Burden a place in the art history books while still in his early 20s. He had himself shot (Shoot, 1971), locked up (Five Day Locker Piece, 1971), electrocuted, (Doorway to Heaven, 1973), cut (Through the Night Softly, 1973), crucified (Trans-fixed, 1974), and advertised on television (4 TV Ads, 1973–77). Burden quit performance in the late 70s and had to artistically reinvent himself, going on to create a multitude of assemblages, installations, kinetic and static sculptures and scientific models. His work has influenced a generation of artists and been exhibited around the world, but the provocative nature of his art coupled with his sense of privacy mean that most people know the myth rather than the man.
"A must-see for followers of performance art and an eye-opener for others."
- The Hollywood Reporter
"Has all the humor and panache you could hope for."
- Time Out