An Interview with marina Abramovic
Here are some highlights from an interview between Marina Abramovic and the Wall Street Journal regarding her recent MoMA show, “The Artist is Present”
On how long she sat in a chair during the exhibition…
“To be exactly precise it was 736 hours and 30 minutes.”
On what she disliked the most about her experience…
“First of all, this was extremely painful physically. It looks simple. I am sitting peacefully there, but it is incredibly painful for the body and the muscles and for the eyes. You are sitting there, and you are reflecting on your own life, all the things that are important, not important but what’s really happening? Seeing the other people you come to that state where you start to feel unconditional love for the total stranger. That is what happened to me. My entire heart opened to the level that was incredible. You see them and by being still they become eyes like the door of the soul, you really start knowing them on the most intimate level. That is why people avoid looking in the eyes, especially here in New York. I looked by now, 1,565 pair of eyes. This is enormous amount of eyes. It was so touching to see I knew the people so intimately but never spoke word with them”
On what she did when the MoMA was closed on Tuesdays…
“Tuesdays are like every other day. First of all, six months before I started preparing myself. It is like going to the war. It has been so much strictness in my life. I stopped eating meat. I have become vegetarian. I train myself to only take liquids in the night so I will not take any liquids during the day. I will take a liquid every 45 minutes during the night. I take the liquid, go to sleep. Wake up. I take the liquid, go to sleep. My last glass of water I take at 8:00 in the morning and then not anymore.”
