THE LYCEUM

Marina Abramović

Marina Abramović is a Serbian performance artist, known as a pioneer of endurance-based body art.

With her body as a canvas, Abramović draws her audience into a realm of subversion.

But what is subversion? To Abramović, subversion is an investigation into our limitations as human beings. Subversion asks us to reconsider everything around us: What are our eyes trained to perceive? What psychological rules govern our interpersonal interactions? What are the sociopolitical norms of our world, and why should we be intrigued when they are tested and changed?

Abramović’s response is her basis for subversion, and performance art is her method. Her unique artistic method draws from experience with Australia’s Pitjantjatjara tribe, whose remote isolation encouraged her to test her senses and consciousness.

Bao states: “Many of her works are very raw and controversial, but they highlight some aspects of human nature and senses of discomfort that I feel like our society often represses...curriculums often gloss over or shy away from artworks that are more radical and progressive.“

Abramović herself stated: “I test the limits of myself in order to transform myself, but I also take the energy from the audience and transform it…a powerful performance will transform everyone in the room.”

Abramović’s forty years of art are far from child’s play. She has lain naked on ice for four hours, stabbed and sliced her skin, and sat in the middle of a star-shaped fire. Despite being a professional, she has nearly died on occasions. Yet she praises her ability to test the harshness of the “real world” exposed in her work, whether through pain or patience.

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Selected Works
  • Rhythm Series (1973-1974): This art series was Abramović’s first and most famous, pioneering performance art in the contemporary period. Abramović tests her mental and physical limitations with hours of risky performances, in protest of politics and the objectification of women (as seen in the infamous Rhythm 0).
  • Cleaning the Mirror #1 (1995): This video installation is composed of 5 stacked television monitors, each of which display a part of a skeleton. Abramović vigorously washes each part, confronting concerns of mortality and literally “cleaning the mirror”.
  • Counting the Rice (2015): This MONA performance features a long, wooden table with a stream of rice in the center. As visitors mundanely count rice, they become part of a concentrated ritual of patience.
Video of Marina Abramović’s The Artist is Present (2010), courtesy of MoMA.

Discussion Questions

  1. Watch the video above for The Artist is Present.
    • “Deconstruct” the performance— what do you see happening? What props are used? What are they used for?
    • How does this performance make you feel?
    • What emotions do you think Abramović wants to communicate in her performance?
  2. How far would you be willing to go to make art? How about to prove a political or social point?
    • Can art be used to prove a political or social point?
  3. What separates Abramović’s performances from other forms of performance art, such as dance or theatre?

This artist was submitted by Bao Duong, Student at Georgia Gwinnett College.

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