Burden tower headed to NYC

Leaving for New York today from the artist’s Topanga studio is Chris Burden’s sculpture “What My Dad Gave Me,” a 65-foot, 16,000-pound skyscraper made of approximately 1 million replica toy construction parts. The work, to be presented by Public Art Fund and hosted by Tishman Speyer, co-owners of Rockefeller Center, will be displayed at Rockefeller Center June 10-July 19.

Burden’s assistant, Katy Lucas, said Wednesday that the artwork, a tribute to Burden’s father, who worked at Rockefeller Center, would travel in three pieces via oversized truck for about a week. “It’s definitely a wide load,” she said.

Though previous Burden artworks have been constructed from original Erector set pieces, Lucas said “What My Dad Gave Me” was made of stamped steel metal replica parts because the real parts are prone to rust.