Monday, October 22, 2012

Marina Abromovic: The Artist is Present

The centerpiece of this fascinating documentary from directors Matthew Akers and Jeff Dupre is a retrospective show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York that covers decades of performance art from Marina Abromovic, the so-called grandmother of performance art. There is a nude man lying on a platform with a skeleton lying on top of him. There are two nude people (sometimes same sex, sometimes not) standing in a doorway making a fleshy obstacle that people have to walk through to see the show. There is a nude woman that appears to be nailed on the wall. There are video installations showing Abromovic as she appeared over the years in the same artistic position as the and there are lots of interviews from experts explaining what it all means, or at least what it meant when she did it the first time around. It’s all very fascinating as long as you take that first leap of faith and agree that what she is doing is art in the first place. If you don’t, then the movie may not be as compelling.

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