Marina Abamovic at the MOMA

I was transfixed by Marina Abramovic. Yugoslavian performance artists who emerged in the 70's as a powerful force for women's art, has been sitting at the MOMA n the same position for over a week now, staring at whomever sits across the table from her. She is scheduled to sit in the museum for the entirety of her show. I approached the performance from behind, seeing Marina from the back as a beautiful fleshy sculpture, and then came around to see her calm but attuned to her subject. The women sitting across from her at the present time was in her early forties, also a beautiful woman with lovely long grey hair. I circled the two performers several times moving to find the "best" angle on the action.

Marina's eyes opened and closed frequently, but they never wavered from her subject. She sat with her attention undivided, in spite of the camera flashes and a chaos around her. I couldn't help but admire the amazing mental strength it must have taken to remain so controlled... but then again, she has been practicing for this performance her whole career.

As I sat and watch the two women (the grey hair lady sat so long that the line behind her started to whisper and wonder if she'd ever leave) thinking about what was going on in each of their respective minds. As I built the narrative and dialogue up in my head I realized the genius of the silent exercise. These were my thoughts... not either of the subjects presented before me. There is no way for me to presume what they may or may not be thinking. I am left to consider my judgments as only my own. And who knows, Marina may only be thinking about how badly she has to pee.

In relationship to my work: I absorb Abramovic's use of struggle and violence towards oneself to discover oneself. I think there is an immense mental strength within her and a reflective capacity that I hope to someday achieve. I love the openness of her pieces, how she let's you fall in and out of them, taking what you will. But at the same time, she is very confrontational, forcing you to look at the horrors of self-inflicted tortures presented. I admire her gull, consistency and her commitment to performance as the most personal way of making art real for and with the audience.