Burden (IV) (2016) User Reviews

Burden or Blessing?

[rschaner · 8/10 · 10 October 2018]

Chris Burden warped the world to his visions of performance art. While there were times of uncomfortability, there were times of great amusement and awe. Burden was a misunderstood man without a doubt. He had a way of seeing things in ways no one else did, whether that be a good thing or a bad thing. Being new to the performance art world, this documentary could scare you. Burden does things that in today's standard could have him considered to be put in a psych unit. However, I admire his ambition and bravery through it all. Chris Burden as a performance artist is intimidating to say the least, but Chris Burden as a sculpture artist is so warming. He has produced so many marvelous installations for the public to see. Burden changed the art world without even knowing what he was starting. While he did cause a lot of controversy, he still continued his work without censorship. His "pieces don't provide answers, they ask questions," is almost an understatement. Out of ten stars, I would rate this an eight out of ten. Personally, I found it very interesting to get a kind of behind-the-scenes with Chris Burden, because you don't always get to hear an artist describe their work and it means a lot to me to know. While the documentary has a heavy undertone of toxic masculinity, it shows who Chris Burden was, a blessing in disguise.

Undecided about Burden

[rchall-26389 · 7/10 · 16 October 2019]

This film leaves me wondering exactly how I feel about Chris Burden and his art. It's definitely split into what I would say three parts. The first is Chris' beginnings- how he experimented with art, how he challenged people's views of art, and how his work was viewed. This early version of Chris makes me wary, but I really enjoyed his experimentation with art. While parts made me uncomfortable or anxious, (such as him nearly setting himself on fire, getting shot, letting people decide if they would electrocute him or not, and even nailing himself to a car) I still enjoyed thinking about the concepts behind his work. A lot of his early work left me feeling anxious, but not entirely uncomfortable with what he was exploring. The film does a fantastic job at making Chris seem level headed and cautious with his potentially dangerous stunts. The narrative shows him as someone who was creative, innovative, and mostly just misunderstood by those who didn't like his art. However, once Chris became big, the film portrayed him as almost maniacal. I was especially uncomfortable while watching the film when his extremely dangerous performances were being discussed. Notably, the interview where he held a knife to the woman's neck and threatened to kill her. This left me almost overcome with anxiety. As an artist, Burden definitely took it way too far when he did that. I can understand putting himself through physical or emotional pain for his art, but I will not stand for him putting another person in harm's way. Even if he was acting the entire time, the amount of trauma from that experience that still follows that woman is evident. The film shows him as a crazy man, angry and on a lot of drugs. It captures what I can only assume his mindset was like. However, as it shifts towards the later years of his life, the film makes another turn, making Chris seem like a sensible, level-headed artist that just wants to bring joy with his art. It's a complete 180 from where he was before with his big truck and machine gun. I really, REALLY adore Burden's late work. His art serves the public, completely for free. His art encompasses what I feel like art should do- bring innovation, creativity, and joy all together and make something beautiful. He does this really well with Metropolis (the toy race car piece) and Urban Light (the lamp installation). Watching Metropolis made me smile, and it was something that was just really intriguing to watch happen. I had seen Urban Lights before in pictures, but I would have never thought that the same person who created that also crawled naked on broken glass or had someone shoot them in the arm. The film does an incredible job showing these stages of Burden's life, and how his attitudes towards creation changed throughout his life. Burden was innovative in his work, but his wide range of actions, both good and bad, makes me undecided about how I feel about him as an artist as a whole.

The double side of this man

[yuancao-98877 · 8/10 · 10 October 2018]

Burden After watching the documentary, I find that Chris burden was an innovator of art. He has double side of personality. A crazy part of him likes to challenge the concept of art. He was using his body as the most impactful tools. He viewed himself as an art piece more than a person. So, he could abandon the limitation of being a human in modern society. He challenged moral, psychical pain, social orders, fear, anger and shame. He was so aggressively trying to experiments and exposes those human weakness to everyone. I could feel so much unsecure and threating in his performance arts. In fact, those negative emotion influenced him and brought craziness to him. He took hard drugs and carrying and firing a UZI all the time and viewed those behavior as arts. People around him are afraid of him because of his instability. He did, he finally brutally defeated those art critics and redefined the concepts of arts. Those who are viewed him as a clown were finally silenced because how philosophical and emotional Chris Burden's arts could bring to them. In fact, the other side, He proved he has talents on traditional art forms too. In fact, Chris burden never get out of his control. From the beginning to the end, he was always thinking as a sculptor. His goal was not going to really hurt himself but creating a moment of thinking. All his harmful performance arts were well prepared. When he lost his craziness in his late age, He was starting creating those great installations. Actually his works are all connected.

Inspired but also little bit violent

[chloejiawei · 7/10 · 9 October 2018]

This documentary can be seen as a record or a story of Chris Burden, was an American artist, and his artworks. If you are an artist, Chris Burden is the name you should know. You can dislike his work, but you will get some inspirations after you saw his pieces. From his early works on performance and sculpture to later installations, the art styles changed significantly from time to time so do Burden as an artist. The early artworks of Burden are full of violence, fear, uncertainty, and even bloody. The video about performance piece named 'Shoot,' his the most known 1971 performance work, reflected the moment of art. As Burden said, every person, especially in the United States, would have fantasy of getting shot. He just was a performer presenting this fantasy to the audience. The boundary between art and incident is blurred in this art piece. After watching videos of his early performance art, I cannot stop thinking the definition of art in the art world. All those pieces are on the line between art and lunatic actions. His later installations and sculptures are pleased to see. I can define those works as art without hesitation. By using many small parts, Burden created a huge sculpture, an area, and even a world. His works are a journey of self-consciousness. Who am I? What do I want to do? What is art for me? How do I reflect on my works? One thing make feel a little boring is the background music. Though this documentary has a few background music, I am the kind of person expecting more background music while watching a documentary. Just a personal view.

Art as an act of will

[skepticskeptical · 7/10 · 21 May 2019]

Chris Burden, about whom I knew nothing before viewing this film, lived the life of a person examining the nature of art. (May he rest in peace.) Abstracting what ties his various early performances and later sculptures together, one may arrive at the conclusion that art is the imposition of one´s will upon the universe. It´s an interesting idea, and as far as I can tell, there is no other way really to distinguish his early works from stunts carried out by thrill seekers. Burden´s only reason for risking his life, allowing himself to be shot, nailed to a Volkswagen, lie inert for days as part of a performance, or occupy a 2 x 2 locker for five days, was to express his desire to do those things.

In some ways, Chris Burden reminds me of Christo, who also has done some pretty bizarre and seemingly pointless things, wrapping buildings and bridges, etc., and which some people may regard as equally insane. But there are two notable distinctions: Burden for the most part carried out his projects without having to prostrate himself before local municipal governments, and Burden did not, at least in his early work, seem to care at all about beauty and aesthetics, as Christo obviously does.

What a lucky artist Burden was, to have had such a surname, which makes the perfect title for this film, given the reaction to him by much of the art world and public, at least as depicted in the archival news footage and interviews.

Under the Scope

[algonzals · 6/10 · 16 October 2019]

At the turn of the 70s, art started to navigate and cultivate an understanding for the political and social climate in which it found itself.Artist experimented with landscape art, feminist art, and more poignantly, performance art. Chris Burden is no stranger to the world of performance and the parameters he wished to question and broaden. Known as the "Art Martyr", Burden took interpersonal connections and towed the line of reality and elasticity. But one may ask, is he moving this line and is he allowed to? Burden's early work felt like a means of mass destruction to not only the human body, but the psyche and the mind, only finding transcendence in his later pieces. Burden's art is more than just an action. His art moves beyond just the piece, which begins to beg the question, where is his artistic reality? Categorized as "intense" and "thoughtful" by some in the film, I found Burden's work to be not so much as disturbing but questionable. It makes me wonder the motive and the purpose more than any art I've ever come across. Is his rouse for crowd affliction or internal resonance?

Chris Burden: Genius or Psycho?

[luke-venhorst · 9/10 · 9 October 2018]

Burden is directed by Richard Dewey and Timothy Marrinan and showcases the life of the artist Chris Burden and his career which ranges from performance, sculpting, and installation. The movie shows his many attempts to reach new boundaries in the art scene. This makes the viewer question if we should call his violent, life-endangering work art and how broad the definition for art is. The documentary is structured chronologically with Chris Burden's life from his experimental college days to his remarkable installations towards his final decade. It has cross-cutting between newly-documented interviews with first hand accounts and older footage of Chris in his youth. The viewpoints the filmmakers were able to obtain for this biography really makes you feel like you knew who he was and you will have trouble not becoming an instant fan. Chris Burden had opposers who didn't think his work should be classified as art but the act of a madman. Purposefully putting yourself at risk in order to convey a message didn't go well with mainstream art audiences in the seventies. Chris however does mention the similarities to notable artists when they were experimenting and attempting techniques never seen before. He argues that art should be about pushing the bar and making a unique impact in the culture. Towards the latter end of his life is where Chris proves his spot in a list of prominent artists. He stated how he admired sculptures in how they require action from the viewer to analyze work from all angles unlike a 2-dimensional painting. He takes this idea to the extreme when looking at his works which include Metropolis II and Medusa's Head. It is quite astonishing the detail and craftsmanship in both of these works and which also don't have a message requiring the gamble of someone's life.

Inconsistent tone, but intelligent observations of a complex mind

[carolyngromerw · 7/10 · 16 October 2019]

Burden is a film that artists and filmmakers alike will find hard to be neutral about, one way or the other. The film opens well; Burden stuffs himself in a 2x2 locker for his graduate thesis. It's a provocative way to begin a story of a provocative person who loved to question the limits and definitions of art. The film did a good job of portraying outsider reactions using interviews- some thought he was an idiot, some thought he was a genius. Whichever it is, his mind worked in different ways than the people around him, which is something I was interested to see visually- details of this person and how his mind works shown through little moments in film. Obviously the film worked with what clips and images they had, likely not wanting to be inauthentic, but I felt like I was watching a book report in the form of a documentary. I never felt like I was inside Burden's head, but instead inside the heads of everyone reacting to him. The filmmakers never tried to get in his head; maybe they didn't know quite what to make of him either.

This is evident in the film's tone, which is shaky and unclear up until the end of the film. If it was unclear the entire film, I might have appreciated it more for its neutrality, but the end of the film (spoilers here) covering Burden's sudden death to illness just before the release of what would be his final project is very tonally strong. From the interview with Burden's friend who has to turn away from the camera so that we don't see his tears, to the wistful, melancholic music the filmmakers chose for clips where the blimp simulation slowly circles around the room, it is clear we are supposed to feel mournful and empathetic of Burden, and appreciate his final piece as a thing of beauty. For those viewers who may have felt annoyed at Burden and disagreed with his view on art, the film ceasing their neutral, objective viewpoint on Burden in that moment detracts from their experience. It starts to feel more like a memoir than an objective overview of the man.

Despite this, the filmmaking is well done (though at times the interviews with an aged Burden are missing some kind of gut punch) and the documentation portrayed of Burden's work is a great snapshot of his life as an artist and how he helped shape contemporary art as we know it today.

Entertaining if not thought provoking

[jacobgoetzinger · 8/10 · 8 October 2018]

You don't have to be familiar with; or even like, the artist to find something meaningful in this movie, nor have familiarity with his works to find fascination within the confines of its premise. This movie asks a fundamental question, what is art? Then drops the viewer down a rabbit hole of what can often be a confusing kaleidoscope of ideas. The very act of determining meaning, validity and depth of purpose from these portrayed pieces is in itself a kind of interpretive dance, which alone defines the feelings felt by the artists audiences the world over. It begets controversy, which is itself a catalyst for conversation. Either way, these acts portrayed created a wave of phycological movement that inspired many, even if only to ask such fundamental questions as: "what is art?"

No matter if you find the acts depicted to be art, or just demented physically realized fever dreams worthy of no more thought than that of acts performed by inhabitants in your local asylum, you should at least be entertained, and at most inspired to think.

Questionably Extreme

[apape-19439 · 6/10 · 16 October 2019]

Extremities of any medium are done to fascinate, attempting to push the medium into new territory or cement the presented piece as something that is truly original and peak form, therefore raising the expectations for future projects. In the film Burden, artist Chris Burden uses his body and his attitude to create performance art that strives to not only question the limits of performance but also put into question the effects art can have on those who view it. The most famous art pieces strung up in galleries are paintings and sculptures that depict recreations of reality or alternate realities all together. Performance art brings the medium of art into a physical reality where a human is present within the piece, allowing viewers to feel a connection of empathy and concern for the performer. Chris Burden uses this connection to make his performances stand out and feel dangerous, as he even has someone shoot him and nail his hands to a vehicle. Seeing how these pieces develop and how the film showcases them presents Burden as a man of chaos and irrational behavior, keeping audiences torn on whether they are intrigued by his actions that push art to new levels, or if they are just seeing a mentally unstable man put himself through harm in the pursuit of success. This inconsistent tone of whether to trust the artist or not keeps the film entertaining throughout and viewers engaged, even though they may not support the acts. Playing off Burden's unpredictability, the film follows suit, that is until the tonal shift of the final act that seems to retcon the persona the film builds Burden into in order to make a happy ending. An overall engaging piece that presents the creatively dangerous mind of one of the most popular performance artists in history, Burden will make viewers question whether Chris Burden's work is something to praise for breaking boundaries or something that is dangerously susceptible to being replicated on an even bigger scale, endangering those involved and possibly those who view it.

Magic?

[zhr9453 · 8/10 · 10 October 2018]

When watching Chris Burden doing performance art for the first time in this movie, besides visual impact, his performances gives me strong emotion connection and influences to almost all my senses. The whole movie experience was so unique that I could rarely feel physical pain while watching art performances. And yes, I do consider this as art, although this might not be my personal favorite type of art, indeed the performance is so exciting, brave and unforgettable. Throughout this movie, I believe Chris Burden is the type of person with strong will power and great execution ability, when doing art, he would just do it without concerning the outside world or issues! That makes his art so exciting, and unique by exploring and experimenting the limitation of human body, he stretched his limitation both physically and mentally. Interestingly, I think is a burly connection between his art and magic performances, both shocking and eye-opening. Especially the bullet performance, really reminds me of great magicians finding human body's capability. But not like magic, everyone could go see his performances, but not everyone is going to enjoy it. But people who likes it is going to attach from the beginning till the end, because it is fresh, dangerous and powerful.

I have to admit I watched it - and I have to throw in my opinion

[jrneptune · 7/10 · 3 September 2020]

First of, I am not a professional Artist. I have a daughter who is and some relatives who are.

I am not at all crazy about the Jack Ass movie series but as I watched this I can see he is brilliant in his own way. It was like watching the people that make that type of movie explain themselves in a rational and logical way.

I thought his idea that the sculpture itself might not need to be the art but what it does to the folks around them or how it makes them feel can be the art. I would agree with that.

I made me think which is what I appreciated the most I guess. A must watch? Probably not unless you are into art possibly.

Its a movie about that guy who shot himself that one time

[Lancier77 · 4/10 · 15 October 2019]

Burden is a polarizing figure, and admittedly your enjoyment of this film depends on it. It's a relatively simple piece, and it doesn't really get as interrogative as I'd like. It's too afraid to actually challenge the subject, and thus loses the chance to actually tear into one of the most prolific modern American artist. It's a puff piece, but in the nonstop puffing, it inadvertently makes Burden look dumber and more bitter than I think they intended. He comes off as a man who spent his early years pushing the boundaries as hard as he could, yet seems baffled why people inspired by him push boundaries. He also seems like he knew he could never escape the label "that guy who shot himself that one time" but they don't add to that conversation. It'd be interesting to go into how it feels to have your defining piece be an unintentional act of self-harm, but they don't really talk about it.

From a film perspective this might as well be made by an actual child. It's an incredibly paint by numbers set up, which is mildly ironic considering how the subject matter makes a point of being unconventional. It's banal, stereotypical, and most of all predictable in its construction. It even has a title-over-a-montage-of-news-hardcut-to-subject-walking-through-calm-nature sequence, like it's amateur hour or something. Embarrassing.

Overall, it's a film that you'll only enjoy if you're up for Burden puff piece. There's nothing in the film construction itself to endear itself. Its a movie about that guy who shot himself that one time, your opinion of the movie will depend on that.

A very insightful and well crafted documentary

[crashlightstudios · 7/10 · 10 October 2018]

Putting Burden's artwork and personal performances aside, I want to say that this was in fact a very well put together documentary! It had relatively smooth transitioning and for most of my viewing I felt very intrigued and perplexed on what could be shown next! Well done to the editor!

When speaking in terms of the content, I would say that you as an audience really get to know Burden and his tenacity as well as his personal inspirations. These become very apparent as something that is very extreme in terms of personal safety and the safety of the viewers but also something that envelopes the viewer by creating the sense of concern, anxiety, and perhaps making you feel a tad bit uncomfortable. At the end of the day Burden is a proven and acclaimed artist and this doc represented much of his path along the way from childhood to his very end.

Art - Brett D

[brettdespenas · 7/10 · 15 October 2019]

Burden (2016) opened my eyes because I haven't really watched too many documentaries/movies about artists. I don't find these documentaries that appealing to me. This one, however, opened my eyes to how much someone can change art entirely. Chris Burden experimented with the human body and art which I found most intriguing. Not many artists are truly willing to push their own bodies to the limit when it comes to a subject such as art. When I was watching this I was excited to learn and watch some of the performances. This gave me a David Blaine feel with Burden's Trans-Fixed piece when he was nailed on to a Volkswagon as well as, him getting shot in the arm. David Blaine experiments with ice picks going through his body as well as catching bullets through his mouth but he calls it "magic." Burden puts on these similar performances and calls them "art."

Provides Insight into Chris Burden's Life and Art

[keckheart · 8/10 · 9 October 2018]

As a documentary, Burden is a successful film. It accurately captures Chris Burden and the performance and sculptural work he created throughout his life. It depicts Burden's wild, dangerous, sometimes violent work while also telling the stories behind each piece. On occasion it also goes into detail about Burden's life growing up and his life as an innovator outside of his artwork. One area where the film is lacking is in its balance between the past and the present. Whenever the film transitions from the chaotic stories of Burden's early work to the quiet, calm interviews of present-day, it is very powerful. The film only does this a few times, however, and focuses the majority of the time on discussing the wild, hectic, dangerous performances and sculptures Burden did in his early life. Though this is very informative and provides eye-opening insight into the life and work of Chris Burden, I yearned for more information on the work and life of Burden in his later years. Burden's later years were left very vague and mysterious. Despite a few flaws, this film provides important documentation on how Burden's controversial and bold artwork changed the art history world forever. If you are looking for a film that shows how provocative and controversial art can change the world, this documentary is for you.

Burden: Leaving behind a legacy

[daisy-luu · 8/10 · 10 October 2018]

This film is about the life of Chris Burden as an artist. Those who know him, know him for his crazy, daring and often times violent performance art pieces. The film talks about his most well known and piece-gone-slightly-wrong where he gets shot in the arm titled Shoot. The film presents performance art pieces during his youth that defined him as an artist as well as after the 1970's when he turned to sculpture and installation. What I like about the film is that it talks about the pieces and how he felt about them at the time. After he turned away from performance art is when we get an older, different kind of Burden. I quite enjoyed seeing his sculpture and installation art a lot more because they're his most recent works and ones that people can go see forever. Like it seemed in the film, Burden didn't want to just be known as the guy who got himself shot, but he wanted to leave behind a legacy. He felt it was okay that people loved his sculpture and installation art without knowing the artist because he felt it meant the "art became more than the maker". The thing about not showing more of what Burden did after his turn away from performance art I felt was the only downside about the film because Burden was so much more than a performance artist and a lot of the film focused on the performance pieces. Putting that aside, the recent art the film does show are wonderful pieces and they were ones that really inspired me the most! Overall, a great documentary on a inspiring artist.

Burden: Defining Art

[meganwynn-37739 · 9/10 · 10 October 2018]

Burden is a documentary that follows Chris Burden, the renowned Performance and Sculptural artist, through the stages of his life and his passion and curiosities of breaking from traditional art forms. It goes into depth about his draw to the dangerous and interest in the body's limits when he was a young man but contrasts that with his peaceful life at his studio in the rolling hills of Topanga Canyon where he spent his last few years creating extravagant sculptures. The documentary presents to us his most dangerous work and some of Burden's comments on the pieces even though most of the time, on television interviews or interviews off the street, they are limited. At one point in the documentary, Burden says that he shouldn't have to explain his art because it explains itself to it's audience, and differently person-to-person. The documentary also goes into the frustration many people had with his works and performance art in general. The debate is still ongoing whether performance art is actually art. Although, the documentary definitely sways you to believing that it is because we see this man who was completely devoted to it all his life. This documentary delved into Burden's personal life as well and how his art reflected it. His wife played a large role in a few of his works when he was happily married but then began having very dark undertones when he cheated on his wife and divorced. I think this aspect of the documentary humanizes Burden in a way that media or news was never capable of. The entire film was very entertaining and it left you wanting to know more or learn more about him. If you are particularly curious about Burden and his work this is a great film that does well in incapsulating his life and influences in his art. You should watch this film if you're interested in performance art, or breaking barriers through art, this film and the life of Burden is very inspiring.

Gracee

[ephremmanasseh · 4/10 · 14 October 2019]

As person that is knew to art, I still believe in Art and also that every artist have different ways of expressing it. I don't know much about Art but I think it can be seen in a lot of things or from an idea and a good example is Chris Burden. Personally If I wasn't seeing it for art purposes I'd think he was crazy or maybe some magicians who liked to manipulate people and make them think they can't get hurt. But as I watched through the documentary I came to realize that it was his way of expressing art and like he said there's a difference between a painting and a sculpture because a painting is basically 2-D dimensional but a sculpture is 3-D, and that allows the viewers to interact with it and the space that's in. Although I think some of the actions were too extreme and went above the measure for example when the TV lady said that Chris held a knife to her neck! And also when he allowed himself to get shot. These were some dangerous games. Again I think the 70's were quite different. Lots of drugs and sex and people were open minded at the time that could have given him a reason.

Who is Chris Burden?

[vivianlyx · 9/10 · 10 October 2018]

Burden, the documentary film about the artist Chris Burden, gives an insight of his life and his work. Chris Burden is certainly a bold artist who created many shocking art works. The documentary depicts how he transformed from a "weird" college student from UCIrvine to a well-known artist. The documentary not only talks thoroughly about his work, but also his thought process and how these works being generated as the final piece in the end. He is an artist with a lot of controversies. He done things that normal people wouldn't be willing to do, or never even would've think about doing such things. However, that is what makes Chris Burden special and unique as an individual. No one would ever think of locking themselves in a 2x2x2 locker for 5 days just because of art. People look at sculptures, but Chris Burden makes himself become a part of the sculpture. Chris Burden's perspective toward art is accurately depicted in this documentary. His works make people wonder 'why?', and this documentary includes all of the answer we want to know. This is why this documentary is so intriguing, it exposes the real Chris Burden without any modification. There are also interviews of people who know him and other artists who talks about him in this film. Even though there are controversies, the documentary doesn't seems to avoid it at all. Instead, it faces the questions directly and provide insights from multiple perspectives for us to make the decision on our own. This film is not trying to persuade us into liking Chris Burden or hating Chris Burden. This documentary simply shows us his life and let us judge by our own instinct. The documentary itself is carefully paced with emotion, which makes it even more interesting to watch. Burden is an important documentation on Chris Burden's work and his life. If you are interested in any of Chris Burden's work or if you are interested in art and want to know more about it without being biased, this film is a perfect suit for you.

A Burden to Museums??

[sergiofer-31196 · 9/10 · 10 October 2018]

This documentary follows the life of Chris Burden, a well-known pioneer in the realm of performance art, as someone who maybe be interested in finding out more about performance art or curious about art in general this would be a great place to find more information. This Documentary covers the form of art known as performance art and more specifically the works of Burden, the life of Burden is covered in a manner that follows the development of his career, it shows the opinions of those who were there to witness his art and what the experience of being there in the moment was like. Chris was one of the first to pursue a career in performance art, which at the time was seen as odd, weird, and to many not an actual form of art, it was non-traditional and to some it had no place to be in any museum... I guess you could even say it was a Burden to art. The performances that burden would create throughout his career were often seen as crazy and often put his own life in danger, this is an aspect of the documentary that leaves one wondering about their own previous conceptions of art and really makes one think about the deeper meaning behind some of these daring art pieces. Whether you're simply looking to find out more about performance art, want to learn about the life of a daring artist who made a name for himself in a field of art that at the time wasn't yet fully developed, or want a new perspective on what art can be, I would recommend you check out this documentary.

Intermedia Post

[mckayman · 8/10 · 15 October 2019]

Chris Burden has to be one of the most eccentric performance artists there has ever been. He pushed the extremes of what performance art could be, and was never afraid to experiment. Some of his performances were somewhat distasteful, but in art, boundaries have always been pushed. The way in which the movie was made was quite engaging, as it gave us a very personal narrative of Burden's artistic career. It was nice that they made sure to have a mix of interviews from the past and present, as the viewer gets to compare Burden from then and now. After seeing this movie, It made me realize how much experimenting is necessary for the development of art, and how innovators so often get ostracized for questioning the norm. Burden was no exception to that, as his performances were always quite controversial, however his impact on the art world was undeniable. I have mixed feelings about the guy, but he is probably one of the most engaging and/or terrifying performance artists I have seen.

The Life and Legacy of a Radical Artist

[tbahassou-13578 · 8/10 · 16 October 2019]

A well edited and researched documentary about the late performance artist, Chris Burden, that deserves at least one viewing even if you're not into performance art or have never heard of Burden. Though there were moments that I thoroughly enjoyed and found to be an insightful journey into the mind of an artist, other aspects of the film were very uncomfortable to sit through, in particular his more violent works that involved him inflicting pain upon himself or having someone inflict pain upon him. I don't think an artist has to have a near-death experience or hurt themselves or others in order to get their message across or be taken seriously as an artist. At least for me, it can sometimes discredit them or remove their legitimacy.

As I watched the film, I gained a better appreciation of Burden's more recent art compared to his earlier work. I think the maturity of his older age really made him more grounded in terms of artistic integrity and originality. In his younger years he seemed very reckless and irresponsible all for the sake of artistic expression. Whatever limit there is to how an artist expresses themselves, Burden clearly tested it and nearly defied it. There were some samples of his earlier work that left me feeling impressed and confused simultaneously, for example, his 5 days in a locker experiment or him being nailed to a car. A question that was echoed throughout the film that was along the lines of whether he was a brilliant artist or just crazy. Maybe both. I guess it depends on your definition of brilliant or crazy. They're often used interchangeably but in this case one can seem more obvious than the other. I personally found more brilliance in his later work such as "Medusa's Head", "Metropolis", "Urban Lights", and "What My Dad Gave Me." I found those to be much more inspiring and impressive in regards to art and craftsmanship.

Whether you're an artist or observer, I think there's an aspect to Chris Burden's career that is admirable. This documentary definitely does a good job at showing the evolution of an artist who was considered controversial due to his reckless and endangering nature to a more relaxed and, in my opinion, more creative and imaginative master of a craft. The overall presentation really tied together the material and gave a satisfying conclusion to both his art and life.

Burden Self

[curransjack · 8/10 · 16 October 2019]

What is art? The documentary "Burden" illustrates the life of performance artist Chris Burden. Chris' life, and art, focused around "what can I create"? What can I do to test the rules of performance art. And "test", he sure did. Narrative drove this documentary as it took us throughout the life of Chris Burden. I think that was very important because throughout Chris' life art changed a fair bit internally. He focused around an ideology of being abstract and new. Finding a way to define and change the whole topic of "art" itself. I really enjoyed the documentary. The way it was edited to be edgy and kind of hard to watch is exactly the kind of feelings you would get from Chris' art, when you experience it in person. Some of Chris' art was very hard to watch. The way he voluntarily experienced pain was interesting, new, real, but was also very controversial. Some find his work inappropriate. I understand both sides of the argument, but ultimately I believe Chris' art was for himself. He didn't make art to hurt anyone. He proved that art can be anything. Art is a form of expression. Chris' art was meant to pose questions, to get people to think.

An Individualized Form of Art

[seaytayden · 9/10 · 16 October 2019]

Considering Chris Burden had an eager eye for distinctiveness and creativity, his work documented within this film left me questioning whether or not his sanity was the initial drive for his work, or just simply his devotion to being a standout artist. My first thoughts while viewing this documentary was that Burden was more of an ideal or strictly well known performance artist. The more I watched, the more I reconsidered Burden's reputation in comparison to his manifestation and personal perspective; what did Burden's art really means to himself and did his audience really understand?

"Performance art doesn't seem very appealing to me" - Chris Burden

Based on the timeframe of Burden's beginning stages of global recognition, his art work wasn't quite acknowledged by the art industry due to his uncategorized style of 'art'. His work was perhaps controversial in a sense; less structured or in alignment with the status quo of what art really meant in the 70's. Burden took his artwork to the extreme, with trickster like performances and life threatening stunts. It's almost obvious that, indeed yes, his 'art' was viewed cautiously or with uncertainty by almost everyone who recognized his style. Looking back at the film, many called Burden "insane" or "crazy". But, in Burden's words, he was portraying that "art has no purpose". In further detail, I got the understanding that he was a prime factor of what drove the evolution of art throughout art history. Burden created his own establishment and stuck with the purpose of influencing his viewers actions, thoughts, and feelings with whatever he was creating. Sure, most of his work left you questioning his sanity, but as you analyze his work, Burden only wanted to make a difference by involving his viewers to affect his art rather than just focusing on the visual aspect.

Being in control of your own work is a common idea within the art industry. But, is an artist really in control of their work while being criticized and categorized by their style, personal interests or form of technique? Burden strived to go against these definitions of art and take a more calculating route by stepping out of the common arctic circle and building his own individualized form of art. Burden wanted to make art that he could be in control of. As complex as this theory sounds, Burden would stand out in ways that many couldn't. So, when identifying just how much of an artist Burden really was, you could say he developed, yet structured, a much more modern idea of art in an era where art was often more traditionalized.