I am a second-year studio art major with a minor in media and cinema studies. I have always been interested in the nuances underlying art and the reaction a work can provoke so I planned on attending a University in the arts field but wasn’t sure where.
Guelph’s campus and community is what convinced me to enrol in its studio art program. I want to continue expanding my knowledge of art mediums, especially in the digital landscape, which is what made me take experimental studio.
Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present
Grace K
What are some of your first impressions of Marina Abramovic’s performance works, based on the documentary?
I had seen Abramovic’s performances of The Artist is Present and Rhythm 0 on social media years before watching this documentary, specifically her performances of endurance: sitting in silence with strangers and, in Rhythm 0, allowing them to do whatever they wish to her. They always stayed with me because of their unique and revealing nature of humanity. The documentary allowed me to discover her oeuvre, and despite its violence, I found myself admiring her dedication to her art. Her work walks the line between art and shock value, sometimes stepping to one side or the other. For example, in her work Rhythm 5, she carves a pentagram into herself, a rather grotesque and uncomfortable sight, which I do not believe was a necessity to convey the meaning of the work. Nevertheless, Rhythm 0 was a novel work that showcased people’s capabilities and destructive tendencies, despite likely causing Abramovic more pain than Rhythm 5. I can understand why people would see it as unethical and problematic; however, her work has pioneered performance art, and when presented in the proper context, it can be incredibly moving, inspiring, and almost unbelievable.
What have you learned about features of performance art based on Abramovic’s work? Consider her quote, “When you perform it is a knife and your blood, when you act it is a fake knife and ketchup.”
Performance art requires as much physical exertion as mental effort; it takes immense confidence, strength, courage, and determination to build a career in performance. Viewing Abramovic’s works changed my perspective on what performance art is and can be. For example, her work with Ulay Relation in Space felt pointless and harmful when I first saw it. However, as I kept watching and learning about the medium and her works, I realized it captures life in a way no painting could. The art is as alive as the audience; everything that occurs may be more real than life itself. The audience and their provoked emotions become a component of the art. It transforms the viewer through a unique experience, exemplified by some of the people who sat across from Abramovic in The Artist is Present. When interviewed afterwards, many told the documentary that it altered their lives, showing that it is distinctly different from conventional art media.
Discuss the ways performance art resists many museum and commercial artworld conventions. How does Abramovic solve/negotiate some of these challenges, and do you find these compromises add to, or undermine the ideas at play in her work?
Public art is generally expected to remain in a single spot, be available for most of the day, and be static, allowing museums to display a variety of work consistently and efficiently. Performance art disobeys all previous conventions of art; it has no monetary value, is limited, requires performers, requires more space, and can be unpredictable. Having an exhibition as a performer would not be possible, since each work requires the performer at all times. To address this, Abramovic’s exhibition at the MOMA included earlier performances of hers that used other performers to execute the works. Seeing the same performance with different performers separates the artist from the art, making the meanings feel more communal but also less of an experience. What is unique about performance art is that an audience is together viewing and thinking about the same work, and being in a gallery setting makes them assume a gallery mindset. The viewer does not put as much thought or attention into works that would otherwise have the whole room’s eyes.
assignment #1
Make a Kilometre
To represent a kilometre, I decided to go on a kilometre walk and document every advertisement that I came across. My original idea was to collect receipts and sew them together to measure out to a kilometre, however, time and material become major restraints.
Consumerism has been a growing interest of mine, certainly due to the landfills most trending items find themselves in. So, building off my previous idea I decided to explore the role and impact of advertising on over consumption within real life. When I think of advertisements my mind immediately resorts to digital marketing (commercials, pop-up ads, sponsorships, etc.) since ads predominate the digital realm. I wanted to challenge myself and see how many I can find in a mere kilometre.
Process/Measuring
I used a pedometer app to measure the precise kilometre I walked and displayed the advertisements posted alongside. I decided to walk through the town I grew up in, it yielded a lot more results than a section of Cambridge & Hamilton I did because more stores were condensed in a smaller area.
Materials & Presentation
I digitally recorded my findings but decided to physically create a document of the walk to give the piece both a digital and physical essence. I used my phone camera, paper, cardboard, glue, and staples to make the work presented on the left. By presenting the physical advertisements, physically despite capturing it all digitally I wanted to juxtapose my predisposed ideas of ads, which are digitally crafted and presented yet seek to sell physical commodities. By doing this I hope to promote discourse regarding the influence, and influx of advertisements, as well as, it’s harmful role in consumerism.
Results/Thoughts
I had a great time documenting and creating this work, I believe the display encapsulates my ideas most accurately and clearly. Nevertheless, if I were to do it again, I would make the presentation look cleaner and test out a variety of areas/walks to compare and contrast the density of advertisements in different areas.
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