Marina Abramovic: A Artista Está Presente

I don't pretend to know the inner realm of performance art; each creative genre has its own secret system of valuation. What struck me most about Marina as an artist in general, though, is her ability to rise above everything and dedicate herself to the truth as she sees it.

It is incredibly difficult to sit and look directly into someone's eyes, whether a stranger or your most intimate partner. Most of us go days without doing this; try it yourself and see (pun intended). There was no doubt a significant exchange of oxytocin (a feel-good hormone) between her and the hundreds of thousands of people who sat across from her and partook in the social experiment (in fact, it seemed to me to be more of a social experiment than performance art, but again, that's just labels). I don't think anyone would argue that there was a lot of mental energy being exchanged, and as we learn more about the brain through ongoing studies, I'm sure we'll realize that this artist is tapping into a futuristic version of ourselves communicating by energy and emotions only.

It also seemed very "zen" to me, and I noticed that at least one of her visitors was a Buddhist. In essence, she was performing a form of sitting meditation, and the three-day retreat that she insisted on for her fellow performance artists was very close to the spiritual practises of eastern philosophy.

I found the documentary very moving, startlingly refreshing, and a wonderful profile of a courageous, dedicated artist who is a true soul- seeker. The only critical comment I have is that I thought the other artists - the ones who valiantly took on her past tasks and who spent an equal number of hours being "tortured" into stillness - did not get much acclaim at the conclusion of the documentary. Bravo to all of them!

In conclusion, a documentary well worth watching, a woman worthy of our admiration, and an art perhaps emergent in its influences over society.

Marina Abramović isn't generally a name that rolls off your tongue when listing your favorite artists, but after viewing "The Artist Is Present", she may as well be the very first person that comes to mind. When classifying "artists", most point in the direction of Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, Roy Lichtenstein — we forget about performance artists, as most of us aren't pretentious enough to consider ourselves a part of the "art" world. Save for Portland hipsters and eclectic New Yorkers, most don't know who the hell Marina Abramović is or why she is so damn interesting. I had never heard of her until a few days ago, when she made national headlines accusing Jay-Z of failing to donate to the Marina Abramović foundation after co-starring in his "Picasso Baby" music video.

"The Artist Is Present" is a fascinating watch for both newcomers and Abramović admirers, giving us an inside look into the process of her 2010 exhibit of the same name while providing a background, or, an introduction, if you will, to her performing art past. Touching on her controversial "Rhythm" series of the 1970s and her artistic and personal relationship with Ulay, the documentary is as educational as it is emotionally satisfying. We can appreciate Abramović's contributions to our culture just as much as we can connect with her as a vulnerable human being doing what they love.

Abramović has made a career out of using her body as means of artistic expression, testing her physical and intellectual limits on a regular basis. She has run into walls (for hours), cut, whipped and mentally disabled herself, exposed her naked body to the world — and yet, these are only a few characteristics of her long career (and vaguely detailed I might add). Abramović's willingness to submit to inescapable pain for the sake of performing is startling. One might initially cast aside her experiments, considering them to be laughable, strange, perhaps even an excuse to commit self-harm. The documentary, though, adds a dimension unseen by most, making her projects all the more admirable.

"The Artist Is Present" has a plentiful number of interviews to add to our reverence, and goes just deep enough into Abramović's past to give us a sort of idea as to why she does what she does. But the most enjoyable aspects of the documentary are not the clinical studies nor the final act, which focuses on the bewildering exhibit. Most gratifying is seeing Abramović behind the scenes, living as a normal woman, with a sense of humor, to boot, who just so happens to have a job most would never dream of. This is a hugely pleasurable documentary, yet I want more. I want to delve into Abramović's unhappy childhood with more gusto, to get an even closer look into the mind-blowing years spent with Ulay. For now, though, this will have to do, and that isn't a bad thing.

A 2012 documentary about the 2010 retrospective exhibition "THE ARTIST IS PRESENT" held at MoMA, New York, by the Serbia-born Marina Abramovic, the performance-art spearhead, has been active for over 40 years, she is the "grandmother of performance art".

For the new generation, Marina probably is well-known for her recent collaboration with Lady Gaga in her trendy ARTPOP album, so one may reckon this documentary could be an introductory piece to her wholesome work and artistic ethic, however, as the title implies, the film doesn't purport to be a comprehensive presentation of her lengthy career, instead, it mainly stays in the "present", extensively records her latest performance inside MoMA (with a group of young artists re-enact her most important work at the same time), where Marina dares to sit and stare with her audience face to face but in silence for many hours a day continuously for 3 months. It was a great success in any rate, but also accurately testifies how smart Marina is, as an astute artist, she knows what her art needs is the gaze and attention from audience, and it is so different from other media, performance art is an ongoing process, so she utilizes her towering stamina to grant each audience the possibility to be in the center of a crowd, to participate in her work and to ruminate in a trance of emotional undercurrents. In a three-months span, the film covers the sensational public images and the more laid-back private moments in Marina's life, through cautious eyes, one might find she is always performing, it is her lifestyle, her habitual mechanism towards the world at least whenever the camera aims at her, she minimally elucidates her beliefs and through ages, her radical angle has abated, what is left is the mystical allure of her presence, as she is sitting silently in front of you and gazing into your eyes but indeed, in most case, you don't mean a thing to her.

The most curious and emotionally relatable part is in the first half of the film, when we briefly get a chance to know about her background, especially her works with German artist Ulay, who she met in 1976, afterward they spent 12 years together as a collective being until they historically ended their relationship in 1988 after a spiritual journey in the Great Wall of China. Like Marina said in a speech, an artist should not fall in love with another artist, it does come from her own experiences, that's why their reunion is much more meaningful and intriguing in this sense. Ulay is also quite frank about this relationship, and gives Marina his blessing for her achievements, still through his interview, there are much more mixed emotions are engendered and mixed, but the truth only exists between those who are involved, no matter how curious we are, it is never what this film intends to demonstrate.

Directed by Matthew Akers, with snappy editing work and soothing score from Nathan Halpern, the film is a joyful ride for those who are really into art scenes and all the fanfares tailing along, occasionally thought-provoking, but essentially it is a bandwagon for Marina's artwork and reputation, if you want to know more about the person herself, you will find this film wanting and not spunky enough to soberly take stock of its subject matter.

I remember when there were people going to MOMA in droves to sit across from some artist I'd never heard of. I heard people say it was a very moving experience. It sounded nuts to me. So I was curious to see if I could get a sense of what it was all about from this movie.

I suppose I did, a little bit. The movie is made by people who want to be a bit artsy about it all, with jump shots and some shaky camera-work, but it does give you the basics. Marina is a long-time performance artist who specializes in feats of endurance, like running repeatedly into a wall or sitting naked on a bicycle seat for hours. She is very sincere, very determined, and seems to be someone who lives her art. There are scenes of her with her ex-partner/lover in which she is driving and cooking dinner which give you a glimpse into the mundane aspects of life that even those living for their art experience.

Most of the second half of the movie is devoted to her three months sitting staring at people who stare back. You see how physically grueling the experience is, you see how moved many people are, and you say how insane things got, with people camping out all night, desperate to get in early enough to spend some time having a famous artist stare at them.

The movie doesn't really recreate the experience. It's rather glossy at times, with a soundtrack that I'm sure creates a different experience than what I assume was simply the buzz of the crowd and the noise from any video projections nearby.

I'm amazed that some people here said they were moved by this movie. It's an interesting view of a performance artist, offering occasional mild insights from her friends and giving some understanding of her approach.

I'm also surprised that some people expected more of this movie, like a complete investigation of her career, or questions into how performance art fits into the art world. The movie is called The Artist is Present, and it's focused on that show, and that piece, and it's by someone who clearly buys into performance artist (I've always thought this sort of thing was interesting but kooky). It's exactly the sort of documentary I would expect someone who is intrigued by Marina would be inclined to make.

The movie absolutely did not make me wish I'd gone up to MOMA to stare at her, although it makes me feel, just a little, that maybe I should have gone up to see the recreations of her previous pieces and take a quick peek at her face-offs. But it's not something I'm losing sleep over.

I can't even find words to describe the emotion, the feeling of peace, serenity, harmony that we feel as watching this beautiful documentary. It simply shows us the essence, the genuineness and purity of this fabulous artist! GREAT WOMAN, no doubt! I wish I was one of those that had the opportunity to sit in front of her! This is art, and anyone can't say that it's not! Certainly you'll never find someone so much present, so much human, so much given to the feelings of others, such as Marina! And that's for sure!!! Thank you, thank you so so much! You're simply UNIQUE! I truly wish to know her better now!!! And her institute, oh the institute!!!! Maybe one day, one day, who knows? :)