Marina Abramovic : The Artist is Present

            I chose to research Marina Abramovic’s ‘The Artist is Present’, which was performed in the atrium of the Museum of Modern Art in New York for 700 hours in 2010. The piece consisted of Ms. Abramovic, one of the world’s most prolific contemporary performance artists, sitting for seven hours a day six days a week in a chair across from whoever dared to sit in the chair across from her from as long as a whole day to as short as a few seconds. She always sat staring straight ahead, in complete silence, with her body slightly leaning forward. Abramovic, known for her attention to detail, consistently dressed in a long gown (of red, blue or white) with her hair braided and her face painted to look pale and nearly dead looking. In this piece, the artist’s body forms a constant, while allowing the audience to be the changing variable; the part of the piece that gives it meaning and makes it interesting. In this way, ‘The Artist is Present’ seems to flip the idea of performance art on its head, by making the piece less about the artist and focusing on the audience.  While the reactions to the piece are fascinating (many people were moved to tears), there was a distracting amount of focus on the audience, nearly to the detriment of the work. For example, the media had a frenzy over all of the celebrities who sat for her, and the press also gleefully recounted the numerous young performance artists who manipulated the piece by styling their own reactions (although I find this actually commendable).

            With regard to the performance space, while the piece was specifically performed in the atrium of the MoMA, I think that it could really be performed anywhere since the artist is trying to speak about a timeless void. Its being in the MoMA was due to reasons of high visibility, and I also think it probably benefited from the idea of museum authority; meaning, if this were not in a museum, I think more people would struggle to call it art. Interestingly, this work was captured on video through a live feed from MoMA and in the documentary of the same name, Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present. I personally appreciate the usage of a live feed, which I think is a great use of technology as a means to move performance art into the modern tech-savvy world.  

See the piece "in action" (LINK) 

Information/Image Source: 

Cotter, Holland. "700-Hour Silent Opera Reaches Finale At MoMA." The New York Times. The New York Times, 31 May 2010. Web. 9 Nov. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/31/arts/design/31diva.html>.