This was a class visit to FACT to see the film Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present (2012). I didn't know what to expect from the film as I'd never heard of the artist before and admittedly when it started I was quite unsure as to whether it was my "sort of thing" because it seemed like Marina was a fashionista posing for cameras, but it was silly of me to judge so quickly.
I found the film moving and quite incredible actually. Previously I'd never really known of many performance artists, apart from some of the works of Bruce Nauman, and as a result I'd never really rated performance art. The combining of personal life with artworks/ artistic journey throughout the film was really effective and it was interesting to see how the two combined together. I found it really quite inspiring and beautiful how Abramovic has dedicated her entire life to making art; she tried so hard and has been so undeterred and completely sacrificed living for the process of creating. I didn't think people like that really existed outside of fiction/myth and it was really touching to see someone so determined, driven and passionate. The physical strain of all of Marina's artworks was amazing and it was hard to see her really push herself beyond limits in her piece for The Artist Is Present.
 |
| Taken from "karimahashadu.blogspot.co.uk" |
My favourite part of the film was when the exhibition The Artist Is Present opened at MoMA and one of the first people to sit opposite Abramovic was her former lover and artistic partner Ulay. It had so much resonance on so many levels; the meeting of two former lovers, the meeting of similar artistic minds, the audience that were watching them seeming to disappear, the silence as Marina couldn't talk but that so much seemed to be being said through tears and glances as well as humanism as an exhibit.
I thought the humanist element and the importance of "a fresh look for each person" that Marina gave, was incredibly similar, but a modern version of, the humanist notions of the Renaissance era. Marina is a big personality, but it was about the interaction between her and another human, not just focusing on her. The public participation and the "meeting" of two people seemed incredibly powerful, especially in modern times where we're constantly connected to each other (by new media) but not physically facing each other for most of this. In this way I thought it was especially relevant to a modern audience.
It was also interesting to note how Marina's retrospective exhibition was coming so late in her life. In the documentary film Ulay said "no-one works as hard as her". I found it interesting that her retrospective was within her lifetime, but sad that it took so long for her to gain wide recognition for her work that she devoted her life to.
Despite this, there was one scene in the film where Marina pitched the idea about a stunt she could pull with illusionist David Blaine during "The Artist Is Present". She pitches the idea to her consultant, who also makes commercial, marketing and PA calls and he suggests that her idea is bad and would not fit in with what she intended the work to be about. This, I thought, called into question her authenticity. It seemed odd to me that a woman presented throughout the film as being so clear-headed, driven and determined, would whimsically think a silly idea would be good; especially when conflicting with her intentions. This seemed completely out of character to the rest of the representation of Marina Abramovic (at which point I realised I was watching a constructed film and that this representation wasn't necessarily as true, or extreme as I had thought). Authenticity is also questioned as this man is helping her to make quite important artistic decisions, one that you would assume the artist has complete control over and doesn't need advice on. The marketing of Marina as a kind of lioness of performance art was broken for me with these weaknesses of authenticity as it didn't seem to make any sense. This also made me see her work moving from authentic and genuine expression into commercialism, as they have the "clever" idea to sell off limited addition prints and pat themselves on the back for it, whilst living in a penthouse in New York and buying designer clothes - - genuine artist or profiteer of consumerism?
From a feminist perspective, it could be viewed with having positives and negatives. A positive reading could come from Marina's ability to "seduce everyone she meets" to manipulate them to get what she wants. She is also now a powerful female artist having a huge retrospective exhibition at possibly the most famous modern art gallery in the world. However, despite seeming to have so much power and ability, the people who are in charge of her (her advisors, the curator of the MoMA exhibition, Ulay) are men. So although it would appear that Marina is the one calling the shots, whether or not things can go ahead depends on the opinions and view of men who are in control of "the art world".
Despite this, there was one scene in the film where Marina pitched the idea about a stunt she could pull with illusionist David Blaine during "The Artist Is Present". She pitches the idea to her consultant, who also makes commercial, marketing and PA calls and he suggests that her idea is bad and would not fit in with what she intended the work to be about. This, I thought, called into question her authenticity. It seemed odd to me that a woman presented throughout the film as being so clear-headed, driven and determined, would whimsically think a silly idea would be good; especially when conflicting with her intentions. This seemed completely out of character to the rest of the representation of Marina Abramovic (at which point I realised I was watching a constructed film and that this representation wasn't necessarily as true, or extreme as I had thought). Authenticity is also questioned as this man is helping her to make quite important artistic decisions, one that you would assume the artist has complete control over and doesn't need advice on. The marketing of Marina as a kind of lioness of performance art was broken for me with these weaknesses of authenticity as it didn't seem to make any sense. This also made me see her work moving from authentic and genuine expression into commercialism, as they have the "clever" idea to sell off limited addition prints and pat themselves on the back for it, whilst living in a penthouse in New York and buying designer clothes - - genuine artist or profiteer of consumerism?
From a feminist perspective, it could be viewed with having positives and negatives. A positive reading could come from Marina's ability to "seduce everyone she meets" to manipulate them to get what she wants. She is also now a powerful female artist having a huge retrospective exhibition at possibly the most famous modern art gallery in the world. However, despite seeming to have so much power and ability, the people who are in charge of her (her advisors, the curator of the MoMA exhibition, Ulay) are men. So although it would appear that Marina is the one calling the shots, whether or not things can go ahead depends on the opinions and view of men who are in control of "the art world".
No comments:
Post a Comment