Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant! Yes, Abramovic is a seductress.
The Artist is Present will be shown on July 2, 2012 on HBO. White Tantric Yoga® meditation is very difficult and performance artist, Serbian- People were lined up for hours, even days, to sit across from her. It became pandemonium. I was fascinated by her custom-made costumes for her performances. Medieval in Marina Abramovic merits all the acclaim bestowed on her. It must have been exhausting for Abramovic because regardless of what she was thinking of as she faced each sitter, she was open to their positive or negative emotions. And staring at them meant she could not block their thoughts from affecting her psyche. It is labeled “performance art”, but it is really Marina’s darshan. Amritanandamayi has embraced more than 31 million people throughout the world. Darshan means “to see” in Sanskrit. In the Hindu ritual tradition, it refers to seeing the sacred. It is believed that, in beholding the image of a deity, onlookers absorb through their eyes the powers of that deity. Darshan hence is believed to have the capacity to bring good fortune, well-being, and grace to those who participate in the act. In archival footage, we learn much about the 12 years Marina and Ulay lived together and designed their pieces. Their small van, that they lived in for 5 years, is on display. Ulay is interviewed for the documentary and he tells us they broke up when he got a Chinese translator pregnant. In their final collaboration, The Lovers, they walked toward each other from opposite ends of the Great Wall of China over a period of three months. (I’ve walked a mere part of it and it is tough. I wonder, who had the harder route?) They then broke up and did not see each other again for 23 years. Ulay has a very interesting view on Abramovic’s meteoric success and was the first person to sit across from her. The question arises – would you do the mortification pieces that Abramovic has done throughout her public career for the fame, Hudson Valley estate, huge SOHO loft, business empire, and mammoth MoMA show? She set herself on fire! Abramovic and Ulay’s Imponderabilia is one of the five pieces re-staged. Here is the YouTude video of the original piece: Abramovic, Marina; Ulay. Performance piece: Imponderabilia. In a selected space. Naked we stand opposite each other in the museum entrance. The public entering the museum has to turn sideways to move through the limited space between us. Everyone wanting to get past has to choose one of us. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgeF7tOks4s Victoria Alexander is a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association: www.bfca.org/ and the Las Vegas Film Critics Society: www.lvfcs.org/. Victoria’s weekly column, “The Devil’s Hammer,” is posted every Monday. http://www.fromthebalcony.com/editorials.php. If you would like to be included on Victoria’s private distribution list for a weekly preview, just email her at masauu@aol.com. Victoria lives in Las Vegas, Nevada and answers every email. You can contact Victoria directly at masauu@aol.com.
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