Skip to main content
Video Loading
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 16

Chris Burden
Prelude to 220, or 110 - A Shocking Performance Art

1971

About the Item

An artist who puts his life on the line for his art. Chris Burden was at the forefront of the conceptual art movement in the early 1970s. Prelude to 220, or 110 is one of his most important works where the artist puts his life on the line for his art. Burden voluntarily lays on his back. His neck and wists are have copper bands that bolt him to the floor. To his immediate left and right are two buckets of water with a 110-volt line inside. If the buckets were compromised in any way by a passerby or an unexpected event - Burden would have been electrocuted in a literal shocking performance. Art history is replete with artists who put themselves in harm's way to accomplish their art. Michelangelo risked a misstep to a certain death as he elevated himself over 60 feet to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Francisco Goya's "The Disasters of War" may have put him at odds with a governing orthodoxy. Picasso walked a very narrow line with during the Nazi occupation. Gutzon Borglum dangled himself off the face of Mount Rushmore and War Photographer Robert Capa, landed on Omaha Beach during D-Day. But it was Chris Burden whose art spotlighted danger itself as the art object and that makes him a true art revolutionary. The work consists of two separate framed photographs. Gelatin silver print in two parts . Signed, dated and numbered to lower right of each panel '1/5 Chris Burden 71’ and ‘1/5 Chris Burden 71’. This work is number 1 from the edition of 5. Provenance: Acquired directly from the artist c. 1975 by the present owner literature: Chris Burden: A Twenty Year Survey, Ayres and Schimmel, pg. 50 The video on 1stDibs of the two photos is coming up a little light. Use the still images as a reference for color and value.
  • Creator:
    Chris Burden (1946 - 2015, American)
  • Creation Year:
    1971
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 13.5 in (34.29 cm)Width: 10.5 in (26.67 cm)Depth: 1 in (2.54 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Miami, FL
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU385314084022
More From This SellerView All
  • Muscle Man and Female Admirer at the Beach - Staged Photography
    By Robert Funk
    Located in Miami, FL
    A ripped muscleman strikes the pose with an admiring female bystander who holds an oversized pair of prank sunglasses. In reality, the muscleman is a 5-inch cut-out, and the girl is ...
    Category

    1970s Conceptual Figurative Photography

    Materials

    Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment

  • Church & Steeple - Dog and Cat Large Format Polaroid
    By William Wegman
    Located in Miami, FL
    William Wegman's highly conceptual Dog - Cat interaction is depicted in this large-format Polaroid Polacolor print that features a double portrait - a Dog and a Cat - together but separate in their own defined space. Signed, titled, and dated to lower right ‘Church & Steeple William Wegman 93’. This work is unique. provenance: Wright Chicago, Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco Acquired from the previous in 1993 by the original owner Thence by descent Best viewed with a top gallery light...
    Category

    1990s Conceptual Portrait Photography

    Materials

    Polaroid

  • Dale Chihuly, Life Magazine,
    By Mitchell Funk
    Located in Miami, FL
    Inkjet Archival Print. The Shot was done on a Life Magazine assignment on "Glass Artists" 1981. The three essential elements are presented in a bold fr...
    Category

    1980s Modern Portrait Photography

    Materials

    Photographic Paper

  • Joy, Happiness, Pleasure, Euphoria, Bliss, Ecstasy is a Jump
    By Mitchell Funk
    Located in Miami, FL
    A joyful moment preserved. A young woman is about to land on earth. She seems very happy about it. Signed, Dated, number Lower left 3/15 recto, unframed, other size available
    Category

    2010s Post-Impressionist Portrait Photography

    Materials

    Photographic Paper

  • Lion Male in Majestic Mauve
    By Robert Funk
    Located in Miami, FL
    Well-muscled male cat with full mane. He's King of the Jungle even if he's in stone and against a pink background. The contrast of gritty the stone texture against the smooth flat sky is unexpected and somehow makes the image special. Signed, dating and numbered 2/15 recto, unframed, another size available, printed later, Printed on Hahnemühle Fine Art paper Robert Funk is a pioneer of toy photography, doll photography...
    Category

    2010s American Modern Portrait Photography

    Materials

    Photographic Paper, Inkjet

  • South Beach in the 1970s. Old Man Walking Enters Building - Old Miami Beach
    By Mitchell Funk
    Located in Miami, FL
    This image of an elderly man entering a dilapidated Miami Beach apartment building shows how the famous resort looked before it became a hip inte...
    Category

    1970s Color-Field Figurative Photography

    Materials

    Archival Pigment, Archival Paper

You May Also Like
  • DETAIL FROM: YOUNG WOMAN WITH BARE BREAST, 2008 GIACOMO DI ANTONIO NIGRETI
    By Reinhard Görner
    Located in Los Angeles, CA
    DETAIL FROM: YOUNG WOMAN WITH BARE BREAST, 2008 GIACOMO DI ANTONIO NIGRETI, NAMED PALMA IL VECCHIO, 1524-26, PAINTING GALLERY BERLIN 40 x 53.4 inches ed....
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary Conceptual Figurative Photography

    Materials

    Lambda

  • DETAIL FROM: Self Portrait with Velvet Cap and Gown with Fur Collar, 2008 RE
    By Reinhard Görner
    Located in Los Angeles, CA
    DETAIL FROM: SELFPORTRAIT WITH VELVET CAP AND GOWN WITH FUR COLLAR, 2008 REMBRANDT VAN RIJN, 1634, PAINTING GALLERY BERLIN 53.4 x 40 inches ed. of 7 $4,400 66.7 x 50 ed. of 5 $6,800
    Category

    Early 2000s Conceptual Figurative Photography

    Materials

    Lambda

  • "Peter Pan" A Young Ballerina In Costume San Francisco 1960
    Located in Soquel, CA
    "Peter Pan" A Young Ballerina In Costume San Francisco 1960 Photograph of a young ballerina circa 1950's by Photographer Richard Edwards (American,. The young girl is photographed p...
    Category

    1960s Photorealist Figurative Photography

    Materials

    Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin

  • Young Ballerina In Pose San Francisco Richard Edwards
    Located in Soquel, CA
    Young Ballerina In Pose San Francisco Richard Edwards Photo of a young ballerina posing. She is holding her right hand above her head, while her left hand is posed in front of her. ...
    Category

    1960s Photorealist Figurative Photography

    Materials

    Paper, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin

  • Woman In Ballet Pose Holding a Flower - San Francisco Richard Edwards
    Located in Soquel, CA
    Woman In Ballet Pose Holding a Flower - San Francisco Richard Edwards A brunette woman poses, standing on her left leg with her hand out holding a flower. A collection of photograph...
    Category

    1960s Photorealist Portrait Photography

    Materials

    Silver Gelatin, Photographic Paper, Paper

  • Hand Colored Silver Gelatin Portrait Photograph of a Casual Male Figure
    Located in Houston, TX
    Hand colored silver gelatin photograph by Houston, TX artist Jim Reitz. The work features a man casually leaning against a building and looking at the camera...
    Category

    2010s Contemporary Portrait Photography

    Materials

    Silver Gelatin, Photographic Paper

Recently Viewed

View All