Performance artists are third in line behind mimes and circus clowns on the road to hell. For his graduate thesis, Chris Burden famously used a gun in an aesthetic context by having a friend put a bullet through his arm in the name of art. He followed up this masterpiece by having his hands nailed to the roof of a Volkswagen. Instead of letting the work speak for itself, Burden bought in to his own hype, constantly reminding those around him that they were in the presence of an artist. As one of the film’s interview subjects rightly observes, “This isn’t art. It’s a form of sadomasochism.” Prior to Burden, the fascination with Chris Burden escaped me. It still does. Had I known ahead of time that the title referred to Chris Burden, chances are this would have gone unreviewed. Credit filmmakers Richard Dewey and Timothy Marrinan with a documentary of such understanding and stylistic conviction that the thought of hitting the “stop” button never came to mind. (2016) — Scott Marks
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