Marina Abramović is a Yugoslavian-born performance artist. Her work is centered around the human body and its limits, both mentally and physically. Please keep in mind that some performances mentioned in this article are extremely graphic. I watched them in a classroom setting, but I would not recommend viewing them on your own.
Before I explain why I find Abramović to be quite genius, I must disclaim that I do not agree with all aspects of her persona. Abramović is an extremely controversial character, and is often accused of being satanic and ritualistic in her artwork. In Rhythm 5 she lay in the center of a burning pentagram, a disturbing and blatantly ritualistic image, yet she claims that it is a response to the former communist regime of Yugoslavia. This work, along with others, and her involvement in 'Pizzagate' have led millions to berate her art and ideology. By no means am I agreeing with or accepting Abramović's questionable actions, but I do find an extremely refreshing side to her other artworks.
Her two most famous works, The Artist is Present and Rythym 0, confront the limitations of her own body and the mind of the audience, yet they post important questions for us. The Artist is Present is my favorite piece of performance art, or possibly art piece overall, due to its simple meaning. Abramović sat in MoMA in a chair for three months during Museum hours. Museum visitors sat across from Abramović, and they did nothing but look into her eyes. She did not lose focus, did not speak, and rarely moved.
You may wonder why people camped outside MoMA in order to be able to sit across from Abramović in silence. This moment is unlike anything we experience in our day-to-day lives. Abramović believes that in this moment the viewer does not feel as though they are looking at another person. Abramović becomes a reflection of the viewer, she is there simply to be there. In the several minutes that you look into her eyes, you may experience a raw and deep encounter unlike any conversation that you have had or text that you have sent. Many people cried and smiled during their time with Abramović.
The Artist is Present teaches us to return to basic encounters, strip ourselves of technology, and actually reflect. In a world where most relationships are maintained through technology and our senses of self are often clouded, Abramović teaches us the beauty of simplicity.
Rhythm 0 is one of Abramović's more violent and disturbing performances. In this piece, the audience is the creator and subject. Abramović left a table with 72 objects and instructions for the audience:
Instructions.
There are 72 objects on the table that one can use on me as desired.
Performance.
I am the object.
During this period I take full responsibility.
Duration: 6 hours (8 pm – 2 am)
Objects on the table included a rose, perfume, food, and a loaded gun. With the statement "I take full responsibility," Abramović allowed the audience to do whatever they wished to her with no repercussions. In the beginning, the audience members were gentle, and remained tame. As the hours passed, they began to stick rose thorns into her stomach, destroy her clothes, and, finally, hold the loaded gun to her body. Abramović was entirely committed to her piece, so she complied with every move that the audience made. Knowing this, an audience member placed Abramović's finger around the trigger of the gun. The performance was interrupted at this point, but if it had been continued, Abramović would have pulled the trigger out of dedication to her work.
At the end of the performance, Abramović broke her doll-like demeanor and began to act like herself. She walked towards the audience, but they all ran away, unable to face what they had done.
The piece was intended to explore the limitations of the audience, but it became a pure representation of human nature.
After learning about Abramović, I became fascinated with her mental stamina represented in The Artist is Present, Rhythm 0, and other works. I discovered the Marina Abramović Institute, a soon-to-be museum in Hudson. MAI teaches the 'Abramović Method,' which is essentially Abramović's meditative practices that prepare her to become limitless. According to Abramović, being limitless is the goal of her work. In The Artist is Present Abramović's mind and concentration are limitless; she is able to sit and gaze for hours on end without breaks.
Abramović believes that becoming limitless helps an individual to become his or her best self. The Abramović Method includes practices such as counting grains of rice in a pile, slowly writing your name, drinking a glass of water in a mindful manner. In these practices, Abramović claims that your brain is pushed. You are forced to focus, to block out the unnecessary, and to be transported to a detached mindset.
Some may call these simple meditation and mindfulness practices, but Abramović refuses to classify them as such. Counting rice, and focusing only on counting rice, for several hours, is dramatically different from doing yoga for 20 minutes.
Abramović is like a researcher, testing the mind and body's limits. When she pushes these limits in her art, intense situations develop. In that sense, what would happen if we take her practices and become limitless in everyday life?
