What is Art?

Art is expression, right?

Marina Abramovic, I could sit here and talk about her all day as there is so much to say. I am not going to do that. Nevertheless what I do want to do is question what many others question.

How is that art?

A simple definition

Define Art

“The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.”

So is Abramovic’s work art?

“She has stabbed her hand with knives and sliced her skin with razor blades. She has lain naked on a cross of ice for hours. She has allowed the public to prod, probe and abuse her prone body. Once she almost died when a performance, in which she lay inside a huge flaming star made of petrol-soaked sawdust, went horribly wrong. (The fire sucked the oxygen from around her, causing her to pass out. An audience member intervened and she was rushed to hospital with burns to her head and body.)” (O’Hagan,2010).

As soon as I read that, what came to my mind straight away is “is this woman crazy”. Why would you want to inflict so much pain on your body for a piece of art? That is not normal. Then I questioned, maybe she is trying to send a message to the audience? How does this even affect the audience? It definitely has some sort of an effect on them. What (or how) is she trying to make them feel?

So many questions.

In my opinion: disturbing. Uncomfortable. Why is this lady trying to test her limits? What does she want to achieve and how is she even allowed to perform in such a way? In her mind something must not be right to want inflict that much pain on yourself. Does she think this is ‘real’ performance because it’s a organic reaction when she is perpetrating agony on herself? Does she believe that this is a reality because It is no longer an act?

So many questions.

What bothers me the most is that “The Artist is Present” is known to be the most difficult for her. That is hard to swallow for me. It is the most ordinary yet the most challenging for her, why? Allowing the audience member to sit across from her on the same table challenges her. Peculiar, right? Is this because it’s invading her personal space? Does she feel that because she isn’t performing a grand spectacle, inflicting pain on herself, and challenging her body that it is no longer a show? Without a doubt Marina Abramovic is fearless, brave and outrageous. But is it clever, is it smart, is her work art?

So many questions.

Works Cited

O’Hagan, S. (2010) Interview: Marina Abramović. The Guardian, 3 October, 1.