Overview
“Limits” is a relative term. Like beauty, it is often in the eye of the beholder. - Chris Burden Back to You offers us an intimate and unprecedented opportunity to experience Chris Burden’s artist’s book practice. Comprising facsimiles of six rare publications, reissued for the first time since their original release, this new collection presents a comprehensive overview of Burden’s radical early performance works and his interest in storytelling across media. “Chris Burden 71–73” (1974) and “Chris Burden 74–77” (1978), originally self-published, feature detailed descriptions by the artist alongside photographs and sketches of his 1970s performances in which he tested his mental and physical limitations, including Five Day Locker Piece in which Burden was shut in a locker for five consecutive days, and Shoot in which he was shot in the arm by a friend with a rifle. “B-Car”(1977) documents Burden’s journey to conceive, build and operate a single-passenger car to travel 100 miles an hour per gallon. “Full Financial Disclosure” (1977) meticulously tracks his monthly business expenses for a year (the first artist to publicly do so). “The Master Builder” (2000) was originally editioned as a portfolio of gravure prints of Burden’s drawings for his Erector Set bridge sculptures. “Coyote Series” (2005) was originally editioned as a portfolio of digital prints and etchings exploring the encounters he had with coyotes near his California home as well as reproductions of his handwritten stories. Seen together for the first time as an interrelated whole, Back to You shows Burden’s radical and uncompromising spirit is alive and well, and introduces his work of fierce social consciousness to a new generation.
Full Product Details
Author: Chris Burden ,
Chris Burden ,
Alexis Smith
Publisher: Steidl Publishers
Imprint: Steidl Verlag
ISBN: 9783969990001
ISBN 10: 3969990009
Pages: 348
Publication Date: 31 December 2025
Audience:
General/trade
,
General
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Not yet available
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Author Information
From his action-based performances of the 1970s which focused on his body and the viewer’s relationship to it, to the technical feats of his later monumental sculptures which intervened into space, Chris Burden (1946–2015) consistently challenged material, physical and political boundaries. By doing so, he reflected on the surreal and precarious realities of contemporary life and invited the viewer to share his contemplations. Works of note include The Big Wheel (1979), Beam Drop (1984/2008/2009), Medusa’s Head (1990) and Urban Light (2008).
