Documentation of Selected Works 1971-75
1971–1975

The Documentation of Selected Works 1971-75 is a compilation of visual records documenting Chris Burden’s work from the early 1970s. Running thirty-five minutes in length and shot on Super-8, 16mm film, and half-inch video, the footage shows selections from Burden’s notoriously extreme conceptual performances, with the artist narrating the projects, detailing their origins, context, and other relevant details in a deadpan fashion. Excerpts of eleven pieces are included: among them Shoot (1971), in which Burden allowed a friend to shoot him in the arm; Bed Piece (1972), in which Burden stayed in a bed in a gallery for twenty-two days; Icarus (1973), in which he jumped onto sheets of glass; and Back to You (1974), in which he invited someone to stab pins into his body in an elevator while spectators watched on a monitor.