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Jesse Norton
December 8, 2015
Work of Art
Benjamin Craig

The Role of Contemporary Art, Illuminated Through Marina Abramovi

Imagine yourself standing beside a giant burning pentagram that houses an unconscious
naked woman. Not exactly something you see every day. Good luck walking away without some
questions. Artists like Marina Abramovi want exactly that reaction. Abramovis provocative
contemporary art has been shocking people since the sixties. As our culture has grown and
changed over time so has the art it produces. The art of our modern era has become known as the
contemporary art movement. With so many different unique art movements leading up to our
own, our role has become more difficult to define. With help from artists like Marina our
cultures contemporary art offers people a chance to explore uncommon perspectives and step
outside their comfort zone.

Marina Abramovi has always lived an alternative life. She has always viewed herself
apart from the norm and has used that perspective as an opportunity to create real art.
Performance art has always been her preferred medium. The art form itself has never been
common but it has gained recognition through the contemporary art era. Marinas performances
ranged from driving a van in circles for hours on end while shouting numbers through a
loudspeaker, to walking the great wall of China to meet her lover halfway. Still when Marina

performed these pieces people did not receive them well. Over time people have become more
open and welcoming to new ideas so modern art has been able to expand but only through efforts
such as Marinas. In such a culture of opportunity and diversity artists have a responsibility to
strive to push the audiences limits. Only recently have people really come to respect
Abramovis work and M.o.M.A. asked her to put on an exhibit.

Then the questions arises Does performance art belong in a gallery setting?. Still
people question whether Marinas work can be considered art at all. Contemporary arts beauty
comes from the fine line between blas and magnificent. Klaus Biesenbach, the curator at
M.o.M.A. said What is art other than revealing human nature?. Discovering and exploring
human nature has always been at the base of Marinas work and that fact has determined her
success. When one typically imagines art we see galleries and paintings, people do not expect to
interact with the artist themselves only the finished product. For her art to reach M.o.M.A. shows
the validity of her work and our cultures progressed understandings of what art really is.

In 1974 Abramovi performed a piece called Rhythm 0, 1974. The piece displayed her
standing naked and motionless over six hours while letting the audience interact with her body
using various objects. At first people remained playful and respectful but as time progressed
people grew violent. People began cutting her, ripping her clothes, trying to have sex with her,
and eventually the piece became halted when somebody put a loaded gun to her head. Marina
tried to show that people when given the opportunity will be as nasty and bestial as possible.
Marina has always used her art more as social experiments than anything, something our modern

age allows easily as opposed to more conservative times before us. She uses her art to test
societies limits and as our culture grows unchecked pieces like this serve to remind people to be
aware of our actions and motives.

Are there any limits to society anymore? Do individual cultures truly continue to exist?
Perhaps contemporary art thrives throughout society today because our world continues to form
one huge culture as opposed to many small ones. People everywhere are connected through
technology and this has changed how we interact. The art community continues to grow and
thrive because new technology means new art mediums and new audiences. Contemporary art
offers people everywhere a means to reevaluate what they consider to be art. As the horizons of
possibility to create art ever expand so do people realize that art exists everywhere. Artists today
have a responsibility to continue to test peoples limits and as the art world grows this becomes
increasingly more difficult. Marina Abramovi recognizes the link between human nature and
art, and finds success through forcing people to look through the same perspective.

Marinas big M.o.M.A. piece entitled The Artist is Present while not as apparent as
Rhythm 0, 1974 still served a similar purpose. The Artist is Present displayed Marina sitting
by herself before a little table with an empty seat opposite her. Then people from the audience
could sit at the empty chair and stare at Marina as long as they wanted. Sounds a little dull at first
but in an age of fast paced, motive driven screen watchers this piece had a profound effect.
People began crying, people claimed to experience spiritual enlightenment, people even waited
overnight (sleeping outside the museum) to see her. Wow. Even most famous paintings do not

receive that reaction. Marinas piece brought peoples eyes away from the screen to admire their
fellow human being, to acknowledge the inner beauty. Just her presence alone greatly impacted
peoples hearts and minds like any art should, or rather any good art should. She uses
contemporary art to serve the people, to test human nature, as previous art has done but not the
same way. A unique modern culture requires unique modern art.

Imagine Marina Abramovi trying to perform such art pieces two hundred years ago. I
sincerely doubt that audience would have been anywhere near as receptive as the M.o.M.A.
audience. Although if she had been born then her art probably would have reflected that culture
instead. Contemporary art lies forever entangled with this specific age. Artists today have a
responsibility to recognize what issues or topics should be brought to light in relevance to
todays peoples. What other reason does art exist than to help people grow and expand their
lives? Culture gives birth to art and art gives birth to culture. A fine balance exists between what
can and cannot be considered acceptable by the public. Good art pushes boundaries and
contemporary art must do the same. Human nature becomes more and more scarce in an age
dominated by technology. Abramovis performance art shoves human nature back into our faces
and forces people to take a step back to consider what they have seen. Pure success in
contemporary art, she made people think. Thought provides stimulus for growth and inquiry,
contemporary arts biggest challenge lies in stimulating thought. The art world balances between
the mundane and extraordinary, if contemporary art does not continue to thrive through artists
like Marina Abramovi then our culture shall remain stagnant.