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Chris Burden
The Big Wheel
February 16 – March 15, 1980
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| Downtown Gallery |
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Installation view
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The Big Wheel, 1979
cast iron flywheel, wood, steel, motorcycle
9 feet 4 inches x 14 feet 7 inches x 11 feet
11 inches
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Radio Sculpture, 1979
radio, speaker, objects
28 ½ x 15 x 14 inches
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Survival Kit, 1979
tin box, red cloth, transistor radio, mirror, $100
bill, candle, matches, toothbrush, camping saw,
fold-out utensils, fishing hook and line, cigarette
11 ¼ x 20 x 20 inches
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Strangler Hunt Grows from Devil
Drawings, 1979
collage
30 x 40 x 1 ½ inches
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Here Comes Trouble from Devil
Drawings, 1979
collage
30 x 40 x 1 ½ inches
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Click here for a PDF version of the following Press Release. |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 5, 1980
CHRIS BURDEN
February 16-March 15, 1980
Chris Burden will exhibit a large new sculpture, The Big Wheel, 15 Devil Drawings and 10 small sculptures in the gallery's temporary downtown location at 351 West Broadway from February 16 through March 15.
The Big Wheel, a cast iron flywheel, 8-feet in diameter and weighing 6,000 pounds, spins continuously during the exhibition. Its axle is positioned upright on a friction-free bearing system supported by a trestle of 6 x 6 inch timbers. Every two hours the rear wheel of a 250 cc Benelli motorcycle is pushed against the flywheel, and the motorcycle is driven through its gears without any forward movement. As the bike accelerates, reaching speeds of up to 60 to 70 mph, it turns the flywheel to a maximum speed of up to 200 rpms. The Big Wheel continues to spin for up to 3 hours after the bike?s engine is turned off.
On the one hand, the raw energy of the rotating flywheel suggests a risk and danger (what if the flywheel were to break loose) which Burden believes to be part of man's distorted disposition toward violence. On the other, Big Wheel evokes a hypnotic quality that comes from the repetitive spinning motion which can act to free the viewer from a customary association with the flywheel's use and cause a meditative experience to take place.
Burden will show 15 Devil Drawings relating to themes that are personal to Burden's life. They are collaged with found objects, newspaper clippings, photographs, and mementos.
The 10 small sculptures portray a range of weaponry related to the war and survival mentality of present political systems. Among those included are: Case of Street Weapons, Survival Kit, Spy Kit. 16th Century Gunpowder, Space Port with Space Ships, and Airplane and Barbed Wire.
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