The Artist is Present

The artist is present is an excellent documentary about the powerful and controversial performance by the charming, courageous, and outrageous, Yugoslavian artist Marina Abramovic.

For nearly three decades Abramovic’s work redefined what art is and Marina is now considered one of the most compelling artists of our time.

The use of her own body as a vehicle, embracing to the limits of pain and physical and mental endurance, confer her the title of grandmother of performance art. The performance took place in 2010 in one of the most important art venue in the world the New York’s Museum of Modern Art.

For three months, from the beginning of March through the end of May the daughter of two national heroes of General Tito's Yugoslavia, sat solemnly and silently for seven and half hours, every day, without food or water, in a wood chair, still, emotionless and gazing into the eyes of hundreds of visitors who sat opposite her only for the opportunity to see Ms. Abramovic face to face. This exchange of glances for some induces tears; for others, a smile.

While she performs on one floor of MoMA, on another floor utilizing both videos and photos of her old works, a group of thirty young artists, disciplinary trained for endurance and concentration, by the same Abramovic, during a rural workshop based on yoga, zen, and breathing, recreated five performance pieces that characterized the artist's career.

The documentary, evidences the genesis of that work and also provides, through interviews and archival clips, a synopsis of Abramovic’s career.

In the retrospective, there is a fascinating section about her love and artistic collaboration with the German performance artist Ulay, that unbeknownst to her takes part in the performance.
A powerful moment, in which the artist allows the woman to take centre stage, surrendering her renowned resistance.