Chris Burden, about whom I knew nothing before viewing this film, lived the life of a person examining the nature of art. (May he rest in peace.) Abstracting what ties his various early performances and later sculptures together, one may arrive at the conclusion that art is the imposition of one´s will upon the universe. It´s an interesting idea, and as far as I can tell, there is no other way really to distinguish his early works from stunts carried out by thrill seekers. Burden´s only reason for risking his life, allowing himself to be shot, nailed to a Volkswagen, lie inert for days as part of a performance, or occupy a 2 x 2 locker for five days, was to express his desire to do those things.
In some ways, Chris Burden reminds me of Christo, who also has done some pretty bizarre and seemingly pointless things, wrapping buildings and bridges, etc., and which some people may regard as equally insane. But there are two notable distinctions: Burden for the most part carried out his projects without having to prostrate himself before local municipal governments, and Burden did not, at least in his early work, seem to care at all about beauty and aesthetics, as Christo obviously does.
What a lucky artist Burden was, to have had such a surname, which makes the perfect title for this film, given the reaction to him by much of the art world and public, at least as depicted in the archival news footage and interviews.