Week 8 — Marina Abramovic



Marina Abramović’s work aims toward the new generation of performance art. Abramović avoided traditional, object-based art materials (i.e., paint and canvas) by making her own body the medium. “It often involves putting herself in grave danger and performing lengthy, harmful routines that result in her being cut or burnt, or enduring some privation. She views her art almost as a sacrificial and religious rite, performed by herself for a congregation of viewers.” After viewing her art pieces, she definitely, like Allan Kaprow, changed what art could be. Being one of the first artist to include themselves in their portraits gives people a new perspective of art and has had a huge influence on the art world. Abramović stated that she views the human body as the “point of departure for any spiritual development.”

Abramović’s work is unique and inspirational. Not only is she one of the first artist to include her body in her artwork, her pieces are usually performed live, pushing her body to the limits. For instance, in the photo Rhythm 5, you can see she lights the fire of shedded wood inside the borders of the star and then willingly lays down in the middle, knowing she will be engulfed by the smoke from the flames.
Another piece done by Abramović’s was Rhythm 0, which was a six-hour work of performance art. The work consisted of Abramović standing still while the viewers were invited to do what they pleased to do with Abramović. The viewers were allowed to use one of the 72 objects she had placed on a table. These included a rose, feather, perfume, honey, bread, grapes, wine, scissors, a scalpel, nails, a metal bar, and a gun loaded with one bullet. Her main interest in this piece was to see how far the public would go. “What is the public about and what are they going to do in this kind of situation?”
Abramovićs art main purpose is to be able to push the human body to its limits and give viewers a taste of what the human body can endure. Abramović’s art is to allow her viewers to engage in her pieces, which is either watching her performances live or letting her viewers partake in the pieces. As I stated earlier about Rhythm 0, she allowed random people to do whatever they wanted to do with her body with certain objects. I like the idea how she is able to incorporate her viewers into her art pieces. Although this style of art is nothing similar to the artists we have studied before, the result of her pieces and seeking information that would no one would attempt to seek, is what makes her art stand out from the rest.