The Grandmother

of Performance
Marina
Art
Abramović
Contents

• General information
• Her postmodern art legacy
• Influences from modern art
• Marina Abramović in me
Who is she

• Marina Abramović (1964 – ): Serbian-American artist

• One of the most influential of the century
• Born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia
• High profile family; struggling childhood
• Education in traditional art then moved to performance art
The postmodern aspect

• Major works: Rhythms series (1973 - 74), The

Artist Is Present (2010)
• Working with Ulay
• Live performance
• Body performance
• Integration with video
Relation to
modern art

• Loosely or rather subtle

• Abramović’s portrait of human as
we exist in this world
• The Cubism’s multi-aspect of
human
• The Dada aspect of generating
questions on society, art and the
artist
My image of Marina
Abramović
Rhythm 0 (1974):
• “in your own performances you can go very far, but if
you leave decisions to the public, you can be killed”
• There are 72 objects on the table that one can use on
me as desired. I am the object. During this period I take
full responsibility.
• “a challenge to every bad energy possible”; “you are
provoking him”
• “it began tamely”; “a fight broke out between the
audience factions”
My image of Marina
Abramović
The Artist Is Present (2010):
• 736-hour and 30-minute long piece of art
• “give out unconditional love to every stranger”
• “more than 850,000 visitors to the Museum of
Modern Art in New York”
• “Abramović sat in a chair in the gallery for
eight hours a day, while visitors streamed in
and, one by one, occupied the chair opposite
her. Some wept; others laughed”
Marina Abramović – “I was
ready to die”

• Controversial but Influential

• The unpredictable and lethal Art
• Art is in your head
• Anyone can be the artist
Reference
• “Dada”. The Art Story. www.theartstory.org/movement-dada.htm. Accessed 17 Jan 2019.
• “Modern Art”. The Art Story. www.theartstory.org/definition-modern-art.htm. Accessed 17 Jan 2019.
• “Postmodern Art”. The Art Story. www.theartstory.org/definition-postmodernism.htm. Accessed 17 Jan 2019.
• “Marina Abramović”. The Art Story. www.theartstory.org/artist-abramovic-marina.htm. Accessed 17 Jan 2019.
• “Cubism”. Tate. www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/c/cubism. Accessed 17 Jan 2019.
• “10 pieces of modern art that shocked the world ”. The Telegraph, 19 Oct 2017,
www.telegraph.co.uk/art/artists/shocking-controversial-pieces-modern-art/rhythm-0-1974-marina-abramovic/. Accessed 17 Jan
2019.
• “Rhythm Series (1973-74)”. UO Blogs, University of Oregon, 10 Feb 2015, blogs.uoregon.edu/. Accessed 17 Jan 2019.
• Wood, Catherine. “Rhythm 0”. Tate, Mar 2010, www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/abramovic-rhythm-0-t14875. Accessed 17 Jan 2019.
• Brockes, Emma. “Performance artist Marina Abramović: 'I was ready to die’”. The Guardian, 12 May 2014,
www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/may/12/marina-abramovic-ready-to-die-serpentine-gallery-512-hours. Accessed 17
Jan 2019.
• Wright, Karen. “Marina Abramović: The grandmother of performance art on her 'brand', growing up behind the Iron Curtain, and
protégé Lady Gaga”. Independent, 31 May 2014,
www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/marina-abramovi-the-grandmother-of-performance-art-on-her-brand-growing-up
-behind-the-iron-curtain-9449301.html#r3z-addoor
. Accessed 17 Jan 2019.