Today I got to participate in Marina Abramovic's performance art piece, 'The Artist is Present'. This is an endurance performance ocurring in the atrium of the MoMA. I went with a friend and was completely cynical about the piece, not being a fan of Marina's work before arriving. We arrived quite early in the day and there were only about 10 people in line ahead of us. The idea was to sit in the chair facing Marina, and the guard instructed us sternly that we were not allowed to put our hands on the table, speak to Marina, or mouth words to her, and that if we tried to he would know it and we would be removed. Marina will sit in the atrium at this table from open to close of the museum without break, through May 31. Most people in front of us in line seemed to use their opportunity in the chair across from Marina as a chance for their own personal performance, and took between 10 minutes to a half an hour to sit with her. Some people closed their eyes and just sat there, allowing Marina to silently stare at them. One woman stared at Marina until they both unexpectedly began to cry. Bridgette, a girl in line with me, said she fell into a trance. My friend Susan that came with me was completely star struck and trembled for minutes and said she couldn't leave the chair until the trembling stopped minutes later. The ones that puzzled me were the people who sat and stared into Marina's eyes for more than half an hour... Were they getting excited by the crowds standing around the gallery staring at them? Where did they get their sense of pleasure? Why were they hogging so much time? Yes, there was something nice about Marina's gaze, I imagine she was a bit like 'Amma', the woman who comes to New York twice a year to give hugs, people line up for hours to get a hug... I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised by the feeling I had once Marina readjusted herself and fixed her gaze on me (she had to center herself by closing her eyes and shift in her seat between every interaction). I was shy as I took my seat. Would Marina detect that just two hours ago I had joined the line scoffing at her piece? That I hadn't been an ardent admirer, and now I was on the MoMA's live, feed, a piece of history?
here is a screenshot of me from the MoMA live feed- excuse my bad posture, I was nervous!!!
She literally seemed to want to give me everything she could with her eyes, and I felt unworthy. She seemed prepared to sit with me for as long as I wanted even if it meant she had to stare at my plain Jane face all day! I thought I would give her the best gift I could for doing such a tough job, so I sat for only a minute. I noticed how hot and tired she looked, how beautiful! She is in her sixties but I didn't notice any wrinkles on her face, just lots of foundation and the shine of the lights. Her hair was so dark and shiny, like a pantene commercial. She wore a long dark gown that came down way past her feet and gave her a regal queenly aspect. Her pores looked enormous. Her eyes looked tired but luminous and full of inspiration...I took in all I could in a quick instant, smiled, then left hurriedly to the joy of those behind me in line.
6 comments:
I'd like to sit down across from you for a while.
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I was just reading about her in the New Yorker. I didn't finish the article, but she sounded . . . odd. Does this change your opinion of her work as a whole?
Yes, like I said, I was smug, scoffing, and skeptical going into it, wasn't even planning on sitting down but once I got to the front of the line I figured I might regret not doing it. Actually it was a beautiful experience and I felt a lot of wisdom coming from Marina looking into her eyes, as well as generosity coming from her. I felt like she is sacrificing a lot by doing this piece, and giving a lot of herself to share so much time like this with all of us New Yorkers. Have to say I'm no longer a skeptic.... it's a great public piece and a I would even say a service to the community.
wow Annie, there are so many reasons I don't want to go to the Moma during her retrospective but you've almost talked me into it, just to be on the receiving end of her stares... I am intrigued!
but I would still definitely skip the rest of the show.
Reminds me of how amazing it is to look into a baby's face. You can just look. It's so different from looking into an adult's or even an older child's face, where there's so much else going on. How powerful it turned out to be for you to have permission to just look. Also reminds me of the philosopher Levinas who talks about looking into someone's face as a primary ethical act that motivates us to treat others well.
Fascinating! I haven't heard of her, but I'd like to look into her. Okay, I didn't mean that as a double meaning, but I guess so. I'd like to find out more about her and take a look in her eyes, just because it sounds like an interesting thing to do. THanks for sharing! You have a great way with words and you look stunning in your profile pic.
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