Marina Abramovic, in one of her last installation pieces before turning to performance, created a site specific sound installation piece that created a reaction to the public. On a bridge she placed a three minute looped recording of a building collapsing provoking passers by causing disruption and distress among the public. It was then removed shortly after the piece was installed because of the distressed reaction of the public and the impact it had on their daily routines. This kind of piece is a clear example of the risks Abramovic created in order to challenge the system in the form of art. She came to feel that ” Art was a kind of question between life and death” (Abramovic, 1998, 15). Due to her personal condition of haemorrhaigia she became boundless and provocative in her development of performances involving physical risk.
In our last visit to the library we were encouraged to take risks and become curious of situations and although curiosity killed the cat… satisfaction brought it back!!
In one of our experiments we were encouraged to stealthily watch over other members of the public in everyday activities and watch the reactions of them reacting to us, blurring the boundaries between who was the performer and who was the audience. There was a variety of reactions, some actively went along with the performance either carrying on with their everyday routines or stopped to perform with us.From a personal standpoint I found it thrilling to witness the outcome of each of the participant because you get a different outcome from each individual you came across.
This was a great experience as a performer because you never knew the outcome of the situation and created risks through performance, in the same way Abramovic provoked the public with her recording of the building.
Through this experiment it has in a way persuaded me to create a more risk-taking performance for my final piece rather than playing it safe, as I have seen, risks provoke the system!!
Cited works:
Abramovic, M. (1998) Performing body, Milan: Charta.
Richards, M. (2010) Marina Abramovic, London: Routledge.
