Chris Burden Skyscraper

In 2008, Chris Burden produced his most significant and most ambitious work, Skyscraper, at Rockefeller Center.  The work was inspired by the Erector Set from his childhood and was a 71-foot-tall replica for 30 Rockefeller Plaza. The project followed his Bridge series, in which he used fabricated Erector Set parts to replicate New York’s Hell Gate Bridge and the Tyne Bridge in the United Kingdom.  Made of stainless steel, the sculpture’s toy-like components presented a whimsical reinterpretation of the modern skyscraper.  The sculpture was assembled by hand at the artist’s studio in Los Angeles, CA, and was made of 500,000 specially fabricated Erector girders.

Select photos courtesy of Bart Barlow © RCPI Landmark Properties, L.L.C.