“Performance art has this incredible power of realization of so many things. It is difficult to maintain because it is immaterial; it is time-based, and it takes everything from you.”
-Marina Abramović, episode 267 of Talk Easy with Sam FragosoMarina Abramović is a pioneer in the field of performance art, using her body as both the subject and the medium. This week, we sit with the legendary performer in her New York City apartment.
We start with her relationship to Ukraine (8:00), creating art out of hardship (12:42), a Rainer Rilke poem that shaped her childhood (15:39), and the curiosity that propels her forward (23:00) in the face of sexist attacks from the press (29:15).
On the back-half, Marina reflects on her groundbreaking work in Rhythm 0 (34:45), her tolerance for pain (39:50), the deep-seated influence of her mother (40:12), finding happiness at age 75 (45:27), how her seminal piece, The Artist Is Present, lives on (49:10), and what it means to be still, together (53:37).
Marina Abramović: A Virtual Exhibit
Balkan Baroque, 1997 (8:57)
Performance, Installation
Duration: 4 days, 6 hours
XLVII Biennale, Venice
Photo by: Attilio Maranzano
Courtesy: the Marina Abramović Archives and Sean Kelly, New York
Crystal Wall of Crying, 2021 (11:00)
Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center
Kyiv, Ukraine
Courtesy: the Marina Abramović Archives and Sean Kelly, New York
The Great Wall Walk, 1988 (16:10)
Marina Abramović and Ulay
Performance
Duration: 90 Days
The Great Wall of China
Courtesy: the Marina Abramović Archives and Sean Kelly, New York
Installation view of Marina Abramović: Performative, 2022 (16:59)
March 4th — April 16th
Photography: Jason Wyche, New York
Courtesy: Sean Kelly Gallery, New York
The Artist Is Present, 2010 (17:15)
Performance
Duration: 75 Days — 716 hours, 30 minutes
March 7 – May 31st, 2010
The Donald B. and Catherine C. Marron Atrium, The Museum of Modern Art, New York
Photo by: Marco Anelli
Courtesy: the Marina Abramović Archives and Sean Kelly, New York
Rhythm 0, 1974 (34:45)
Performance
Duration: 6 hours
Studio Mona Gallery, Naples
Courtesy: the Marina Abramović Archives and Sean Kelly, New York
Lips of Thomas, 1975 (39:51)
Performance
Duration: 2 hours
Krinzinger Gallery, Innsbruck
Courtesy: the Marina Abramović Archives and Sean Kelly, New York
Rhythm 5, 1974 (39:54)
Performance
Duration: 1.5 hours
Student Culture Center, Belgrade
Courtesy: the Marina Abramović Archives and Sean Kelly, New York
Rhythm 2, 1974 (39:57)
First part: 15 minutes
Second part: 7 hours
Gallery of Contemporary Art, Zagreb
Courtesy: the Marina Abramović Archives and Sean Kelly, New York
Four-year-old Marina, 1951 | Marina’s mother and father (40:12)
From her 2016 memoir, Walk Through Walls.
Courtesy: the Marina Abramović Archives and Penguin Random House
7 Deaths of Maria Callas, 2021 (45:42)
Color video, stereo sound
Runtime: 61 minutes, 30 seconds
Courtesy: the Marina Abramović Archives and Sean Kelly, New York
The Artist Is Present, 2010 — table removed (49:10)
Duration: 75 Days — 716 hours, 30 minutes
March 7 – May 31st, 2010
The Donald B. and Catherine C. Marron Atrium, The Museum of Modern Art, New York
Photo by: Marco Anelli
Courtesy: the Marina Abramović Archives and Sean Kelly, New York
Show-notes:
- Visit Marina’s new exhibition, Performative at Sean Kelly Gallery in New York City.
- Learn about their benefit auction with Artsy to aid humanitarian relief in Ukraine.
- Find more of Marina’s work through the Marina Abramović Institute.
- Follow them on Instagram and Facebook.
- Order Marina’s memoir, Walk Through Walls.
- For more, hear our recommended talks with Joel Meyerowitz, Gloria Steinem, Ocean Vuong, Hank Willis Thomas, Toyin Ojih Odutola, Stacey Abrams, Cate Blanchett, and Margaret Atwood.
Illustrations by: Krishna Shenoi.
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