READINGS

The Artist is Present

My first ever impression of Marina Abramovic was Rhythm 0. I had seen clips of this piece before watching the documentary in class, and although it is still one of her most intriguing works in my opinion, I was also very captivated by Rest Energy which I had not heard of before. In this piece, Marina and Ulay balance an arrow on the weight of their bodies, the arrow pointed at Marina’s heart. The performance lasted four minutes and ten seconds. Microphones were attached to both of their chests so that they could hear each other’s heartbeats.

What I admire so much about both of these works is the tension and danger! I think the risk of the performance is what makes it so interesting to me, anything could go wrong at any second. With that being said, I think this is also what I find to be maybe a little problematic about the two works, as with much of Marina’s other art as well.

MOCA Reflections

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