Chris Burden
Chris Burden's work is often reduced to the stunning performances in which he explored personal danger as artistic expression. For Shoot
(1971), he had an assistant shoot a bullet in his left arm by an
assistant from a distance of about five meters. Why stop there when you
can do better? He set fire to himself, nailed himself on a car, had
himself cut, starved, drowned, sequestered, etc.
The work on show at Inhotim, Samson, is of a different genre.
It is potentially dangerous but not for the artist. The piece consists
of a 100 ton jack connected to a gear box and a turnstile. The jack
pushes two large timbers against the walls of the gallery. To enter the
gallery, visitors must pass through the turnstile and each turn of the
turnstile slightly expands the jack. If enough people visit the
exhibition, Samson could, theoretically, destroy the
building. The installation speaks volume of Burden's opinion of museums
and art institutions which the artist identified with "the
establishment." By forcing spectators to pass through the turnstile in
order to satisfy their curiosity, Burden assigns them equal culpability
in the potential destruction of the gallery space.
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