In 1974, at the young age of 23, Serbian performance artist Marina Abramovic stood in a gallery in Naples. Next to her was a table with 72 objects on it. Some of the objects were meant for pleasure such as a glass of water, a coat, and shoes. Other objects could be used to invoke pain such as razor blades, a hammer, and even a loaded pistol. The instructions on the table stated, “There are 72 objects on the table that one can use on me as desired. I am the object. During this period, I take full responsibility”. Abramovic gave everyone in attendance six hours, from 8 pm to 2 am, to do as they please with her and the objects. She was interested in seeing what the public is about and what they are going to do in this kind of situation. She stated that for this performance piece, she prepared herself for the possibility that she may die. Marina’s own retelling of the performance and what happened during it is below:
At first, the public was respectful and nice to her, giving
her a glass of water to drink or handing her the rose to hold. Then a man took a
pair of scissors and cut her clothes off. From there the public got more
violent and would cut her with the razor blades, chain her up, and one man in
the crowd even tried to get Abramovic to shoot herself with the pistol. After
the six hours were up, Abramovic started to move and talk, becoming herself
again. This scared the public and they ran away from her as they could not face
what they had done to her. When they viewed her as an object, it was easy to do
whatever they wanted, once she became human again, they were horrified at the
kinds of things they had allowed themselves to do. This piece entitled Rhythm
0 made those who were in attendance confront how fragile their own humanity
is and demonstrated that if allowed to do as they pleased, many in the public
quite quickly lose their humanity.
Another notable work that continued to expand the boundaries
of what is possible in performance art was Abramovic’s piece entitled The Artist
is Present. This performance took place in 2010 at the Museum of Modern Art
in New York. Every day, eight hours a day, for three months, Abramovic would sit
silently at a wooden table across from an empty chair. She would wait as people
took turns sitting in the chair and locking eyes with her. She met the gaze of
over 1,000 strangers, many of whom were so moved they would cry.
This piece lasted for 750 hours. During this time, Abramovic only moved once, when her ex-lover and former performance partner, Ulay, sat down. Ulay came to her performance after the two had not seen each other for more than 20 years. After he sat down, Abramovic moved to hold his hands.
For decades, Marina Abramovic has pushed the boundaries of performance art. She states that she is fascinated with how far we can push our bodies and minds. Her performances stretch the limits of her own body and mind but also emotionally, intellectually, and physically challenge those who participate in and witness her performances. When asked about her creative process, she stated that she has never had a studio as “a studio makes you lazy and comfortable”. She instead prefers to go on research trips where she immerses herself in nature and studies people from other cultures who push their bodies and their minds in ways that we don’t understand. She says that she likes to expose herself to life and then ideas come as a surprise. As a big C creative, this demonstrates Abramovic’s incredible ability to collect ideas from past experiences, incubate these pieces of information, and come up with novel ideas unconsciously. I gave Abramovic the designation as a big C creative because of the radical paradigm shift she has caused in the field of performance art, completely changing people’s ideas of what performance art is and what it can be.
Sources:
https://hbr.org/2016/11/marina-abramovi
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/abramovic-rhythm-0-t14875
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTBkbseXfOQ
I have heard of Abramovic's first before somewhat on social media, but I never knew the exact details behind it. I think performance art is steadily becoming more popular, but to learn about Abarmovic highlighted the history of this medium as well. I think her performances are amazing and it would be amazing to see in real life. The reliance on the audience takes a shot in the dark to how the exact people would react there, but it really shows human nature in a way that is not explicit to the viewers until after the performance is over. I agree that she would be a Big C creative as she created some provocative pieces that no one else has done before.
ReplyDeleteI've heard about her Rhythm 0 project before, but her more recent work is new to me. The contrast between her sitting across from the stranger and her with her former partner is interesting, and the way she somehow has intimacy with both people despite one being a stranger is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI had never heard of Abramovic before but when I saw your post, I was quickly enthralled. I agree she is a Big C creative. I have never heard of anyone doing things like the two pieces mentioned. The risk of Rhythm 0 is incredible to me, and the results are even more shocking, and I would even say incredibly sad. I think we need more art like this.
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