Marina Abramovic was born in Yugoslavian on November 30, 1946. Abramovic began her career in the early 1970s. After more than three decades, she has recently begun to describe herself as the “grandmother of performance art". Abramović's work explores the relationship between performer and audience, the limits of the body, and the possibilities of the mind.
In a 1999 MUSEO interview explains performance art in this way.
Performance for me is when the performer step into his own mental and physical construction in the public. It's a kind of energy dialogue. They are not rehearsed. They are not repeated, but done once, basically. There is a concept that is a platform for the performer to follow, but at the same time, he doesn't know the outcome of the performance in that moment. It is very different from the theatre. There is a constant dialogue between the performer and the public. I got involved with performance after making sound installations. At one point I started using my body, and I never could go back into the seclusion of the studio and just make objects or other types of artwork. Performance really was something that fit my nature the best. The negative aspect is that after performances, many artists could not continue because of the amount of effort and energy. And you're permanently exposed to the public, and many times the artist's nature needs the seclusion of the studio, and they need to make objects and installations. They cannot just maintain performing for long periods of time. It is very difficult. The second thing is the market. There is nothing left over. There is not much except the memory of the audience.
Rhythm 10 - (1973)
In her first performance Rhythm 10, Abramović explored elements of ritual and gesture. She took twenty knives and then played the Russian game in which knife jabs are aimed between the splayed fingers of her hand. Each time she cut herself, she would pick up a new knife from the row of twenty she had set up. Abramovic recorded the whole ordeal on a tape recorder.
Rhythm 10
Rhythm 5 - (1974)
"I construct a five-pointed star (made of wood and wood chips soaked in 100 litres of petrol). I set fire to the star. I walk around it. I cut my hair and throw the clumps into each point of the star. I cut my toe-nails and throw the clippings into each point of the star. I walk into the star and lie down on the empty surface. Lying down, I fail to notice that the flames have used up all the oxygen. I lose consciousness. The viewers do not notice, because I am supine. When a flame touches my leg and I still show no reaction, two viewers come into the star and carry me out of it. I am confronted with my physical limitations, the performance is cut short. Afterwards I wonder how I can use my body – conscious and otherwise – without disrupting the performance"
Rhythm 2 - 1974
Rhythm 2 was an experiment testing whether a state of unconsciousness could be incorporated into a performance.
She first took a pill prescribed for catatonia (a condition in which a person’s muscles are immobilized and remain in a single position for hours at a time). Abramović experienced seizures for the first half of the performance. Although she had no control over her body her mind was lucid, and she observed what was occurring.
Ten minutes after the effects of that drug had worn off, Abramović took a pill that is often prescribed for aggressive and depressed people. This resulted in immobility. Bodily she was present, yet mentally she was not. She reported that she had no memory of the lapsed time.
This project was an exploration of the connections between mind and body. She eventually took this piece to Tibet.
Rhythm 0 - (1974)
Rhythm 0 tests the limits of the relationship between a performer and audience. This is one of Abramovic's best known performances.
Abramović had placed upon a table 72 objects that people were allowed to use in any way that they chose. Some of these were objects that could give pleasure, while others could be used to inflict pain. Among the items were scissors, a knife, a whip, and a gun with and a single bullet. For six hours the artist allowed the audience members to manipulate her body and actions.
Initially, members of the audience proceeded with caution, but as time passed several people began to behave aggressively. As Abramović described it later:
“The experience I learned was that…if you leave decision to the public, you can be killed.” ... “I felt really violated: they cut 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 public. Everyone ran away, escaping an actual confrontation."In 1976, Abramovic moved to Amsterdam. She then met a German performance artist named Uwe Laysiepen who went by the name Ulay. It turns out they were both born on the same day.
Abramović and Ulay began their collaboration with the main concepts being ego and artistic identity. They formed a collective being called “the other”, and spoke of themselves as parts of a “two-headed body”. They dressed and behaved like twins, and created a relationship of trust. As they defined this phantom identity, their individual identities became less accessible.
Rest Energy - (1980)
Standing across from one another in slated position. Looking each other in the eye. I hold a bow and Ulay holds the string with the arrow pointing directly to my heart. Microphones attached to both hearts recording the increasing number of heart beats.
Rest Energy - (1980)
Relation In Time - (1977)
The performance 'Relation in Time' took place at Studio G7 in Bologna, Italy. Sitting quietly for seventeen hours, Abramovic and Ulay were connected to each other their hair. They spent the first sixteen hours doing this alone, and an audience came in to witness the final hour. Ulay and Abramovic are sitting in front of a white wall, their backs turned towards each other. Abramovic's hair, pulled back tightly into a ponytail, is tied to Ulay's. The spectator sees them in profile, each looking in a different direction. At the start they are sitting up straight and later when they become tired they begin to slump so that their hair becomes looser. The process makes heavy demands on both the physical and mental stamina of the artists. The artists attempt to reach a state of harmony between body and mind. Ulay and Abramovic have to rely on their mental strength to be able to sit still for seventeen hours, without speaking. This process of the submission of the body to the mind is a central element in ancient eastern meditation.
Relation In Time - (1977)
Light/Dark - (1977)
'Light / Dark' took place at the International Art Fair in Cologne, Germany, in October 1977. Ulay and Abramovic face each other in a kneeling position, and take turns to slap each other in the face. Due to the strong light shining onto their faces, they cannot see the slap coming from the dark. The performance lasts 20 minutes. After each slap, the hand that has delivered it is placed back on the leg of its owner, which results in a regular rhythm. This rhythm changes when the pace is increased. At a certain part in the performance, the slaps speed up. Ulay turns his cheek towards Abramovic when she swipes at him whereas Abramovic turns her face away. The performance ends when Abramovic ducks her head, evading the next slap. 'Light / Dark' reflects on the relationship between man and woman. Ulay said: 'We expressed the various aspects between man and women, the work wasn't only about ourselves… Our relationship made the work possible, but the performances were not a direct image of our private relationship.' Nor is 'Light / Dark' about pain, despite the fact that slapping is normally associated with hurting someone. The slapping is used as a means towards a higher end. Abramovic says: 'It is not the pain itself that matters. We never did things for the pleasure of pain. We were looking for a key, a way to break through the body, to open something up, which is a desire that comes from another side of truth or reality.' As with the other work from the 'Relation work'-series, the artists did not rehearse beforehand. It is partly due to this that, almost 30 years later, the viewer watching the video is still fascinated by this performance.
Light/Dark - (1977)
The two worked together from 1977 to 1988.
In 2005, Abramović presented Seven Easy Pieces at the Guggenheim Museaum in New York. On seven consecutive nights for seven hours she recreated the works of five artists who first performed in the 60s and 70s. The performances were very trying and physically exhaustive, they involved the physical and mental concentration of the artist. It is believed that she re-performed these works so as to pay her respect to the past, though many of the performances were altered from their originals.
Here is a full list of the works performed:
- Bruce Nauman's Body Pressure, (1974)
- Vito Acconci's Seedbed, (1972)
- Valie Export's Action Pants: Genital Panic (1969)
- Gina Pane's The Conditioning (1973)
- Joseph Beuys's How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare (1965)
- Abramović's own Lips of Thomas (1975)
- Abramović's own Entering the Other Side (2005)
When Sex and the City was in its sixth season there is a scene where a version of one of Abramovic's pieces is fictionalized. Character Carried Bradshaw played by Sarah Jessica Parker walks into the Sean Kelly Gallery on West 29th Street where she makes eye contact with her new love interest who is a Russian artist played by ballerina Mikhail Baryshnikov. The two watch a 12 day performance "The House with the Ocean View." However, it should be noted that the woman who played Abramovic was not the real Abramovic. The artist and gallery had script approval.
In the episode "Carrie" makes a joke about how the fasting artist probably has someone feeding her Big Mac sandwiches from McDonald's.
The House with the Ocean View - (2002)
The House with the Ocean View - (2002)
TateShots interviews Marina Abramovic
Abramovic continues to make art. To learn more about Marina Abramovic visit her site at
http://marinaabramovicinstitute.org
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