Marina Abramović is the creator of pioneering performance art which transcends the form’s provocative origins. Her visceral and extreme performances have tested the limits of both body and mind, communicating with audiences worldwide on a personal and political level. Updated and revised throughout, the book combines:
- a biography, setting out the contexts of Abramović’s work
- an examination of the artist through her writings, interviews and influences
- a detailed analysis of her work, including studies of the Rhythm series, Nightsea Crossing and 512 Hours
- practical explorations of the performances and their origins.
As a first step towards critical understanding, and as an initial exploration before going on to further, primary research, Routledge Performance Practitioners offer unbeatable value for today’s student.
List of Figures
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
- BIOGRAPHY AND CONTEXT
- WRITINGS, INTERVIEWS AND INFLUENCES
- KEY WORKS
- PRACTICAL EXPLORATIONS AND THEIR ORIGINS
Beginnings in the Balkans
Revolutionary Fervour
Risk
Relations and Relationships
Transition
"Cleaning the House"
Continuity
Origins and authenticity
Defining moments and early discoveries
Global perspective / nomadic outlook
Conditions for creativity
East West
Desert as source
"Transitory Objects" and spectator interactivity
Cage and Klein
Documentation
The mind’s potential
Trance states and experiences of time
Space and place
Creative contradictions
Video works
Extended receptivity
Return to the Balkans
Spiritual energy
Early works up to 1975
Rhythm series
Collaborative period (1975-1988)
Nightsea Crossing and The Lovers: The Great Wall Walk
1988 to the 2008
Balkan Baroque and The House with the Ocean View
2008-2018
The Artist is Present, 512 Hours and The Cleaner
Body Conditioning
Sensory Awareness and receptivity
Memory and Re-membering
GLOSSARY
INDEX
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Biography
Mary Richards is a Reader at Brunel University London, UK. She has written a number of papers and journal articles on performance and live art practices.