Uncanny Artist
Ephemera and Objects for Artists and Collectors
This is the 1999 Chris Burden Catalog for When Robots Ruled the Air:The Two-Minute Airplane Factory, published to accompany the exhibition at the Tate Gallery. For The Two-Minute Airplane Factory, Burden designed a factory-like assembly line which was to construct model airplanes from paper, plastic and balsa-wood parts. The process, which was on view, ends in the launch of the planes, which were to fly up and circle before descending to land on the gallery floor, to be collected and sold to visitors. As it turns out, the machine failed to produce one plane. The viewers ended up watching the Tate gallery technicians try in vain to get the machine to work. Some critics believe the mechanical failure was part of the piece. The 10.5"x8.25"x0.375" paperback catalog (ISBN: 1-85437-286-6) includes: 10 color and 37 black-and-white illustrations; an essay with an overview of Burden's work by Frances Morris; a detailed chronology by Mary Horlock; and text by the artist. This copy of the Chris Burden Catalog for When Robots Ruled the Air is in Like New condition.