Pacing unheard behind these bowed heads, peering over their shoulders, I become an inadvertent invigilator. Something disturbing is happening in the last room, where rows of people sit at little desks, head down, as if they were in a school exam. But I am not moving so slowly as the people in the west gallery, making their way from one end of the space to the other, just like the dawdling tourists and amateur pedestrians I wove between on my way here. I don't want the artist or one of her assistants on my case. If I open my eyes, will I find Alain de Botton standing before me, making lewd gestures and grimaces? So I keep moving, avoiding eye contact. It is as though I am on drugs, but not in a fun, "Walter Benjamin on hashish in Marseille" way. You do hear voices, don't you?įeeling both present and strangely cut off, I am more spectator than actor. It is hard not to tear the damn things off. John Cage's silence was never so silent as this, apart from the gurgling in my sinuses and the sensation – it is a hot, humid day – that my headphones are filling up with sweat. But not me I'm not your man.Īt least in psychotherapy, there's always someone to talk to. People spend years at this, up mountains, in ashrams, in community-centre workshops, all following "the way", whatever way you choose. What are we meant to think about when we are meant to be thinking about nothing more than being here? Not thinking, just being. There are chairs, where we can sit and watch, betting on who will last longest. People are standing on the low plinth of shallow, polished wooden boxes (now in the form of a large cross) in the north gallery like a flashmob of crowdsourced statues. Some here are clearly in a zone beyond the Serpentine. Sexual fantasy, should I try Botox, and did I leave the iron on? It is hard to be in the moment. Thoughts of bills to pay and world peace. There is never nothing, always something. On my first visit she and her helpers took us, one by one, to stand in front of the walls and windows, where we stood, eyes closed, to think about the present, or whatever it is we think about when we are standing, waiting for nothing. Photograph: Marco/Marco Anelliīeyond, in the galleries, the people come and go, thinking (doubtless) of Marina. Thank you all.Abramović is performing at the Serpentine Gallery from 11 June to 25 August. We have only five days left to reach the goal. New Edit: I am now going to the MAI Kickstarter to answer questions of backers here. I will also later be hugging every backer of the Kickstarter. Then I will answer questions for Kickstarter backers only here. New Edit: I will be back on this page to answer questions on Monday, August 19th at 3pm. In the meanwhile you can see this video of a joke. Ask me anything.Įdit: Thank you for the questions. I am now doing a Kickstarter to create an institute for long durational performance. I sat for 736 hours across from anyone who wanted to sit with me. My most recent work, "The Artist Is Present", was at MoMA in New York. Look this, this, this, this, this, and this to see examples. I have done many works that stretch the limitations of the mind and body. I have been a performance artist for 40 years of my life.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |