I was very excited about the previews, months ago: Abramovic will come to Milan. <She's going to do something at the PAC! something new, something crazy… what is she going to do here? will she cut herself? will she stay in front of us for ages? will she perform with animals?? What???>
When an artist of her calibre is coming in our confused city, everybody goes even more confused. I think only the introduction of the traffic charge created the same level of panic.
Then, on the dot as spring does, here she is: March, 21st 2012, no Maya could forecast this, but it happened: Marina is really here.
And then? I started reading and watching the videos about the performance, I saw pictures about it and I started thinking <Well, maybe not, it doesn't worth a visit. I've already seen everything she's doing, why should I go now, after seeing all the presentation?>
Why? I've always been sceptic on performances of any kind, even if after the lecture of Denys Riout book, "The art of the XXth century", I thought I got the importance of them. Certain books must be read constantly, every 6 months, to remind you the core of the things (in this case, the core of the XXth century art).
Despite the lecture, anyway, I was still undecided. Why going there?
Then a friend called me and proposed to go there in the afternoon. It was the last day of presence of the artist, since after March 23rd you can only se Marina through the video of the performance "The artist is present" (this sounds ironic, I know).
I immediately said yes, and I did well.
I wanted to show you first the images of this exhibit, to put you in my same position. I recommend to go there anyway, even if Marina is no more there.
I don't want to tell you anything special on her, since you can find a lot of information about her work and the always-high-level of PAC press section can do it better than me. I'll just tell you that the power of Marina's work is all in the performance, with or without her. And there is no video, nor picture, that can summarize a live session of her work. As the curator Eugenio Viola said in his essays on the presentation <the performance is present>.
Don't think this is a kind of empty tautology or an easy win. Marina makes you aware of the simple things, that are usually the most important. Living our chaotic lives (me before anybody else) we constantly miss the importance of the time and of the space around us. Marina gives us back something we have but didn't want to remember we have.
The performance started with she and her the assistants (choreographers in NYC) with white gowns, making the performing public get relaxed. They checked their breathe, their muscles, their minds… it was a kind of yoga, striving for putting the participant in peace and armory with the environment and the installations.
The "sculptures" specifically made for this purpose are very attractive and appealing. Aesthetically perfect and balanced, few materials that gives you a sense of peace. Marina recreated the simplest elements of the world in form of common objects for humans (beds, chairs, tables, rooms).
Looking at the performers, you are obliged to stop and think of you, af the time passing, of the world around. You don't have to expect nothing special, but only something powerful in simplicity.
You'll feel strange, if you can get the right deep concentration. The public is divided into two groups: the performers and the visitors. Everybody is part of the performance.
The exhibition is completed with videos about Marina's work, with a special section dedicated to "The artist is present", with the original chairs and table she used at the Moma.
Nothing special, but strong, really strong.
(click to see an interview to Marina, in ENGLISH, on her work until now)
No comments:
Post a Comment