American artist, Chris Burden died earlier this month. His might not be a household name, but his influence on contemporary art is huge. He started with a desire to be an architect, then moved to sculpture, then to something he called "actions", which are more commonly called "performances". Most art students hear about Burden's piece Shoot, 1971 early on in their education. For it, he got a friend to shoot him in the arm in a gallery setting. The piece is shocking and seemingly incomprehensible. How could this be art?  Being influenced by minimalism, Burden took the idea a step further and used his body as medium and surface. Many of his pieces at the time were responses to the Vietnam War, but also American culture at large. He wanted people to question why is the act of shooting so shocking when people were witnessing it everyday on their TV sets.

Many Americans would fight to the end of time to ensure their "right to bear arms". They are the most well-armed citizens in the world. In 2013, it was estimated that there were anywhere between  270 and 310 million guns in the US (close to one firearm for every man, woman and child). Guns are everywhere: in homes, on TV shows and movies, and even at Walmart so they could be picked up while buying groceries. Burden drew attention to this paradoxcal relationship to guns in a simple and direct way. Whether you agree or disagree that this is "art", Burden's act made people question art, society, the use of guns and the Vietnam War itself.  While these acts might seem like gimmicks when considered out of context, the conceptual premises behind these works came from a deep and thoughtful place.

Burden continued to have impact with his work through a variety of other actions including buying TV commercial time. His work over the last few decades has concentrated on sculptural installations. The image above shows Burden using cardboard to represent the 656 submarines in the US Navy. The image called Metropolis II, depicting the madness of our contemporary city by having 100,000 toy cars circulate every hour. Here is a close up view: Metropolis II (detail). One of my favourite pieces is the now iconic piece made from 202 street lights Burden collected over the years called Urban Light; the work is permanently installed outside the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. It is interesting to see how his later work returned in many ways to his first love, architecture.

A comprehensive catalogue on Burden's work called Chris Burden: Extreme Measures was published recently to accompany an exhibition of the same name at the New Museum. For a slightly dizzying yet informative video tour, you can follow James Kalm as he travels with his hand-held camera though this exhibition.  The Art Story gives a good overview of Burden's career and the meaning behind his works. In 1975, the late film critic Roger Ebert interviewed Burden and offers some good insights to the artist. And for information on individual work: Everything You Need to Know About Chris Burden's Art Through His Greatest Works. Burden gives some short explanations of some of his work in this short video: chris burden installations.

Victoria-based sculptor and UVic professor emeritus, Mowry Baden was one of Burden's instructors; Burden refers to Baden's influence on his work a few times in this informative lecture with art historian and critic Thomas Crow. So, while at first Burden's early work might be hard to understand or take in, or as Peter Schjeldahl in the New Yorker described them "perfectly repellent", his decades-long career has had a huge influence on contemporary art practice. Burden was an artist who was always thinking about how he could reinvent the limits of art. His relentless pursuit of ideas will be missed by many in the art community.