2012
MARINA ABRAMOVIC: THE ARTIST IS PRESENT follows the renowned and provocative performance artist as she prepares for the most important moment of her life: a major retrospective of her work at The Museum of Modern Art. To be given a retrospective at one of the world's premier museums is the most exhilarating sort of milestone. For Abramovic, it is far more: it is the chance to finally silence the question she has been hearing over and over again for four decades: “But why is this art?”
Seductive, fearless, and outrageous, Abramovic has been redefining what art is for nearly 40 years. Using her own body as a vehicle, pushing herself beyond her limits—and at times risking her life in the process—she creates performances that challenge, shock and move her audiences. For her MOMA exhibition, Abramovic planned something truly extraordinary: all day, every day, from early March until the end of May 2010, she sat at a table in the museum’s atrium. One by one, museum-goers were invited to sit opposite of her, without speaking, touching or openly communicating in any way. Their reactions, and Abramovic’s own as the days become weeks become months, present a fascinating study of the relationship between artist and audience.