Sunday, August 25th, 2013

Marina Abramovic Exhibition Causes Discomfort at MoMA

March 16, 2010 by  
Filed under Art Events & Exhibitions

NEW YORK, NY.- A new exhibit at The Museum of Modern Art is causing discomfort among some visitors by bringing them close to nude performers — some might say too close.

Two nude performers stand inches apart in a narrow doorway of the exhibit of work by Yugoslavian-born artist Marina Abramovic, which opened on Sunday.

The position of the naked pair, who alternate and are either opposite or same-sex performers, forces patrons to decide whether to walk between them.

Marina Abramović Luminosity 580x388 Marina Abramovic Exhibition Causes Discomfort at MoMA

Marina Abramović, "Luminosity". Originally performed in 1997 for two hours at Sean Kelly Gallery, New York. 1997. Still from video, 4:45 minutes. ©2010, Marina Abramović. Courtesy: The Artist and Sean Kelly Gallery/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

To some patrons, a brush with live flesh was just too much to ponder.

Morgan Wolfe, an 18-year-old visitor to the museum, decided not to walk between two male performers.

“It bothers me a bit,” he told the New York Post in Sunday editions.

The exhibit, “Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present,” presents a view of Abramovic’s career over four decades and her work in a variety of mediums, including performance art, installations, sound pieces, video works and photographs.

Besides the naked pair in the doorway, the exhibit includes a nude performer lying under a skeleton and a naked woman on a bicycle seat.

Abramovic is best known for performance works in which she exposed herself to physical pain, sometimes involving audience participation.

In one of her most squirm-inducing works, she invited members of the audience to inflict pain on her with one of 72 objects, including a rose, a chain, scissors, knives, a whip and a gun.

The exhibit at the MoMA continues through May 31.

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