Thoughts on Chris Burdens Art,.

Burden's art does is  not concerned with the  creation of an object designed to produce an aesthetic response in the viewer, the art resides in the actual response of the viewer or even the non response of the viewer, if there can indeed there is any such thing as a non-response, for it can be argued that not to respond to a situation being experienced is a response.Burden in the act of causing injury to himself forces the viewer either to intervene or remain passive during the act of viewing , but we will assume in either case the viewer is mentaly or emotionally  moved, either to a state of concern, horror ,helplessness or possibly even disgust.Burden art does not produce as already stated a physical object that can be traded as a commodity in the art market, like a painting or piece of sculpture. Burdens art is dealing  with the creation of ideas, through actions which are born of a concept, or maybe a question he wishes  us to ask ourselves. Burdens art as stated is not a commodity, but it does posse questions about the commodification of modern mass culture. If we see violence on a television screen similar to that which  Burden enacts in a gallery space, but we fail to respond in a similar way. Burden's art posses the question ,has mass media and the commodification of contemporary culture anethetised our emotional response through a form of anethetised repetition.