Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present

I just saw this film at the San Francisco International Film Festival. I thought it was excellent. I had heard about Marina's work, read a few articles and seen a few photos, but this film put it all together and gave me the context that I never had before.

It documents a 3 month retrospective of her work that was at the New York MOMA and not only shows details of what it was like to live through those three months, with recreations of many of her historical performances and Marina sitting in front of audience members all day every day, but also shows the back story regarding the work involved in putting something like that together, as well as details about her personal life that are fascinating. Collaborations and interviews with former husband Ulay are particularly poignant. The reactions of some of the audience members at the museum are also quite strange and compelling. I especially liked the children who sat with Marina at the museum and have a feeling that the experience will stay with some of them for a lifetime...

This film made me want to seek out more of Marina's work...

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 absolutely loathe performance art and the pretentiousness that comes with it. If fact, aside from movies and some abstract pieces, I am not all that interested in art. However, it is impossible not to like this film. Abramovic is hypnotic throughout and the film editors do a great job of cutting out virtually all of the annoyances that sometimes plague these types documentaries. I am a simple-minded person who enjoys beer, boxing and cars. I do not know my wines nor am I an avid NY Times reader. But, one thing I am sure of is that you will love this film. Just give it 15 minutes and you will be hooked.

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.

This documentary is so powerful to me. I had never been introduced to this type of art before and made me realize how important it is to have an open mind when your goal in life is to discover, learn and connect. For example, one of the landmark pieces Marina is known for is where she sits in front of someone for an incredibly long time, day after day, for weeks, months. I looked at this and was struck with thoughts dominated by puzzlement and judgement. It was weird and silly to me, until I let myself think about it. Think about where the artist is coming from. I thought about my own situation where looking people in the eyes is incredibly difficult and the idea of coming to a space where this woman is sitting, taking a seat in front her, then meeting her eyes became profound. It also made it clear to me that sometimes in order to appreciate something so radically different from what a person is used to or familiar with, the time in a person's life, what has come before, and what a person is tuned in to all become so vital in the outcome of whether the person listens, or immediately dismisses. I was able to let myself make a connection with what it is Marina is trying to do with her art and it came alive for me, all at once. The documentary itself is beautifully done, you can tell it was a production made with love and devotion to its subject. It goes into Marina's history in performance art through interviews and old footage, and is framed by the massive preparations for a show held at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. One of my new favorite documentaries. http://funkyforestfirstcontact.wordpress.com/