THIS MAN CHANGED MY LIFE

THIS MAN CHANGED MY LIFE
Originally uploaded by KEITHBOADWEE.

I graduated from UCLA in 1989, 2 or 3 years before it became cool to go there. I don't know what it was like after I left but I absolutely loved it. One of the primary reasons I loved it so much was the presence of Chris Burden. He was hands on, totally reliable, patient, a remarkably intelligent and dedicated teacher as well as an astute critic. He impacted my life and work profoundly. I know others who worked with him who share my feelings but I've heard the last few years were a mixed bag (he's gone now). I don't know, I don't care. I love and respect the man, I always will. The photo is the cover of his Newport Harbor show (now Orange County Museum of Art) catalogue. It was his first retrospective and one of those shows that I can remember being completely blown away by. It chronicles his beginnings in performance, endurance and conceptualism and moves into his early years as a sculptor (which he now does exclusively). This book gives great insight into the work and is pretty much all you need to know about him. The landscape of contemporary art would be alltogether different without his imprint. I can't recommend this highly enough. It sells for about $175 on AMAZON.COM and is worth every penny. Easily one of the best art catalogues ever. If you love art, it's a necessity. Note: I couldn't find anything definitive about Chris on the web. Your best bet is a Google image search for CHRIS BURDEN.