Marina Abramovic - The Artist Is Present

The Artist is Present is a 2012 avant garde documentary which first aired on HBO, detailing the serbian born performance artist Marina Abramovic and the performance at the MOMA in 2011. At the MOMA Abramovic performed a 736 hour and 30 minute static and silent performance art piece which featured recreations of seven of her previous performances by upcoming performance artists and a piece in which Abramovic sat immobile in the museum's atrium and visitors were invited to sit opposite her to feed from her energy.

The Artist Is Present was the largest exhibition of performance art ever featured at the Met, and was the first true retrospective of Abramovic's work. This documentary covers the genesis, creative direction and preformance of Abramovic's piece. What was so groundbreaking about The Artist Is Present was how Abramovic gave equal time and attention to each visitor, whether they were famous or not, the presence of Lady Gaga, James Franco and Sharon Stone was of little or no consequence. The documentary does largely the same thing, Gaga and Stone are not shown, and Franco, one of Abramovic's personal friends features only shortly in the video.

What is interestinng about this documentary is that it focuses as much on the spectator as it does on the artist, although the film is definitely an exploration and a celebration of Abramovic's work, the film centers largely on the people visiting the exhibition, what motivates them, how does Marina inspire them, and why they are there. the first part of the film is largely a look back at past Abramovic works, such as her works with Ulay and The Lovers, a piece in which she and Ulay each walked from opposite ends of the great wall of china in order to say goodbye to other and to end their relationship, a beautifully poetic piece.

Marina's sheer power is shown in this film, and her ability to project her emotions are show even through the lens, many patrons discovered themselves bursting into tears in her presence, and the sheer power in her eyes and her face is enough even to make those watching this film cry, Abramovic has the ability to see directly into the soul of those sitting opposite her, this ability is what makes her so powerful and limitless, and this documentary is a success simply because it show off it's greatest asset stunningly, Marina Abramovic is portrayed as one of the most defining performance artists of all time.

The Artist Is Present is a surely made and fascinating documentary, it showcase the incredible performance ability of it's star, Marina Abramovic and it is able to answer the decade old question that has always been asked about Marina; 'why is this art?'. Rating: B-

Marina Abramovic: When you perform it is a knife and your blood, when you act it is a fake knife and ketchup.