Marina Abramovic ~ Three Historic Films Presented by Creative Time |
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| Written by Anne Pasternak |
| Thursday, 11 March 2010 05:51 |
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"In her stunning work, Marina Abramovic—along with her former collaborator, Ulay—has made powerful works that courageously probe conditions of gender, power, sexuality, war, and peace," said Anne Pasternak, President and Artistic Director of Creative Time. "Among the most influential artists of her time, it is exciting to show a small survey of her work on the MTV screen in Times Square, a site with contesting relationships between gender, commerce, and identity." The first two films—Light/Dark and Rest Energy—feature German-born performance artist Ulay in interactions that explore the themes of tension and violence that carry throughout many of her time-based works. In Light/Dark, Abramovic and Ulay kneel opposite each other against a dark background lit only by two sources of light. They take turns slapping each other at a quickening pace, resulting in mechanized rhythm that continues until Abramovic ducks her head, evading the next slap and thus ending the cycle. In Rest/Energy, this cyclical repetition is replaced by an exercise in suspenseful stillness that begins when Abramovic and Ulay stand opposite each other and slowly lean apart until they are held only by the tension of a loaded bow that is held between them—its arrow pointed directly at Abramovic's heart. After four alarming minutes, they relax the tension on the bow, and Abramovic is out of danger.  In Dissolution, wherein Abramovic appears alone in a
beautifully lit studio setting repeatedly lashing her bare back with a whip
until she begins to tremble, the artist's focus returns to her ongoing
exploration of the inextricable unity of body and mind. The title, Dissolution,
references themes recurrent in Abramovic's work, from violence and cultural
memory, to testing the limits of her body in order to reach a higher state of
consciousness. The Museum of Modern Art's exhibition Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present, on view from March 14 to May 31, 2010, features the world premiere of a new work—The Artist Is Present (2010)—that she will perform daily throughout the run of the exhibition, for a total of over 700 hours. For more information, please visit www.moma.org. Creative Time kicked off At 44 1/2 with the overwhelmingly successful presentation of Shallow by Malcolm McLaren in June 2008, and was followed by selections from Mark Tribe's Port Huron Project; early work by the legendary Gilbert & George; a series curated by artist Marilyn Minter; the work of acclaimed artist Steve McQueen; and two series by young artists. Most recently, Creative Time presented a mini-retrospective of the work of legendary artist Bruce Conner. The larger than life, high definition 44 1/2 screen is located on Broadway between 44th and 45th Streets, directly across the street from MTV's offices and studio. At 44 1/2 is part of Creative Time's long history of presenting public art in Times Square. Throughout her long career, Marina Abramovic has employed the use of provocative performance as a vital form of visual art. Born in Belgrade, Yogoslavia, Marina Abramovic became a member of a generation of pioneering performance artists in New York that emerged in the 1970s. Exploring the relationship between performer and audience, Abramovic extends the physical and mental limits of her being in her performances. She has withstood pain, exhaustion, and danger in search for an emotional and spiritual transformation. Abramovic has exhibited at major institutions throughout U.S. the world. Her work has also been included in many large-scale international exhibitions including the Venice Biennale (1976 and 1997) and Documenta VI, VII and IX, Kassel, Germany (1977, 1982 and 1992). She was awarded the Golden Lion for Best Artist at the 1997 Venice Biennale for her extraordinary video installation/performance piece Balkan Baroque‚ and in 2003 received the Bessie for The House with the Ocean View‚ a 12-day performance at Sean Kelly Gallery. In 2012, Abramovic will open the Marina Abramovic Institute in Hudson, NY to help preserve performance art and to help increase its audience. A viewing schedule and directions to the screen are available at www.creativetime.org/at445. Click on logo below to add this article to your favorite Social Website ~ |
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