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Many of us know the Yugoslav artist Marina Abramovich. She is called “the grandmother of performance art”.
For more than 40 years the woman has organized interactive installations
Abramovič’s performances have a lasting impact. For example, her earliest performance – “Rhythm 0” at Studio Morra (Naples, Italy) is still talked about today. We will talk about it here.
Rhythm 0 is a painfully simple piece.
Abramovič stood motionless for 6 hours
People who approached were asked to do with her whatever their hearts desired. For that, the artist had prepared 72 objects in advance and laid them out on a table …
Abramovič held instructions in her hands. Their main message was: do what you want, I will take full responsibility.
At first, only photographers approached the woman
After a while the worse part began.
But for now let’s return to the table with the objects. It had “objects of pleasure” and “objects of destruction.” The most harmful were the feathers and flowers; the most dangerous were the knife, the razor blade and the loaded gun.
Art critic Thomas McEvilly watched the performance and describes it like this: “The beginning was inconspicuous. Someone walked around her in circles. Someone raised their hands. Some did not deny themselves intimate touches.”
“By the third hour of the performance all her clothes had been cut.”
By the fourth hour the same blades began to explore the skin
There were minor sexual assaults on her body.
But Marina was so devoted to the work that she would not have resisted even rape or murder.
The artist’s own thoughts about what happened to her during the performance are even more painful.
“I felt violence.” They cut my clothes, thorns from flowers wounded my abdomen. There was a gun at my temple.
Some men touched her naked body.
At the end of the six hours the performer left her post
She walked among her attackers. No soul could look into her eyes. People did not want to be made responsible or judged for what had happened. It seemed as if they wanted to forget their recent pleasure.
“This work proves that there is something terrible in people.” It shows how quickly someone can hurt you under favorable circumstances. A person who does not fight, does not defend themselves, is easy to dehumanize. Yes, if you create such a scene, most of the “normal” will turn into real attackers,” says Marina Abramovich about the experiment.
This performance makes you THINK. Show the post to your friends – humanity must be kinder!
