Monday, March 4, 2013
Artist Appreciation - Marina Abramovic
Hello, everyone! Today's artist appreciation is Marina Abromovic, one of the most well-known performance artists of modern times. Her work is so cathartic and raw; in a word, it's moving.
The photo above is from Abramovic's "The Artist is Present," an exhibit that lasted 736 hours in which Abramovic sat silently in the atrium of the MoMA and invited anyone to sit opposite her. It may seem like an odd and, to some, pointless performance, but according to interviews I've read, many including Abramovic found the experience life-changing.
This photo is from Abramovic's 1974 performance, "Rhythm 0." This is her most well-known performance and it shows her absolute dedication to performance art and discovering the relationship between artist and audience. Abramovic took a passive, silent stance, using a sign to tell the audience that they had complete control over her. On a table near her lay 72 different items that the audience could use on or against her, including a rose, a feather, a whip, a gun and a bullet. Abramovic said of the experience, "What I learned was that... if you leave it up to the audience, they can kill you.” ... “I felt really violated: they cut up my clothes, stuck rose thorns in my stomach, one person aimed the gun at my head, and another took it away. It created an aggressive atmosphere. After exactly 6 hours, as planned, I stood up and started walking toward the audience. Everyone ran away, to escape an actual confrontation."
There are numerous videos on YouTube that show many of her performances, and I find them so fascinating and, again, moving. I think performance art is one of the most captivating and emotional types of art, and Abramovic certainly validates that.
A documentary covering "The Artist is Present" and more about Abramovic was recently made and received great reviews. I plan to watch it as soon as possible, and I encourage you to, too.
Hope you all enjoyed--have you heard of this inspiring woman?
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WOW! I've never heard of her. I'll forward this blog onto my friend Jill. She's done performance art herself and really is moved by it. Thanks for posting!
ReplyDeleteThe Nautical Owl
That's awesome! Thanks for sharing :)
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I've never heard of her but want to check the documentary out now. Awesome post!
ReplyDeleteThanks! Update me if you watch it!
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