Marina Abramovic
Seven Easy Pieces
9 -15 November 2005
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
5th Ave at 89th St
New York, NY
USA
Dedicated to Susan Sontag.
From November 9 through November 15, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum presents Marina Abramovic: Seven Easy Pieces, seven consecutive nights of performances in the Frank Lloyd Wright rotunda from 5 PM to 12 AM.
Since the early 1970s, Marina Abramovic has pioneered the use of performance as a visual art form. The body has always served as her subject and medium, and the parameters of her early works were determined by her endurance. Exploring the physical and mental limits of her being, she has withstood pain, exhaustion, and danger in the quest for transformation. With Seven Easy Pieces Abramovic reenacts seminal performance works by her peers dating from the 1960s and 70s. The project is premised on the fact that little documentation exists for most performances from this critical early period; one often has to rely upon testimonies from witnesses or photographs that show only portions of any given piece. Seven Easy Pieces examines the possibility of redoing and preserving an art form that is, by nature, ephemeral.
Abramovic will perform the following works:
Wed, November 9: Bruce Nauman, Body Pressure (1974). Nauman constructed a false wall nearly identical in size to an existing wall behind it. A pink poster with black typeface invited visitors to perform their own action by pressing against the wall.
Thurs, November 10: Vito Acconci, Seedbed (1972). Acconci occupied the space under a false floor, masturbating and speaking through a microphone to visitors walking above in an attempt to establish an intimate connection with them.
Fri, November 11: VALIE EXPORT, Action Pants: Genital Panic (1969). Wearing pants with the crotch removed, EXPORT walked through an art cinema, offering the spectators visual contact with a real female body. Walking up and down the aisles, she challenged the audience to look at reality instead of passively enjoying images of women on the screen.
Sat, November 12: Gina Pane, The Conditioning, first action of Self-Portrait(s) (1973). Pane lay on a metal bed above lit candles for approximately thirty minutes. Her suffering was apparent to the audience, who witnessed her wringing her hands in pain.
Sun, November 13: Joseph Beuys, How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare (1965). With his head covered in honey and gold leaf, Beuys cradled a dead hare, showing it pictures on the wall and whispering to it. He wore an iron sole on his right foot and a felt sole on his left.
Mon, November 14: Marina Abramovic, Lips of Thomas (1975). Abramovic ate a kilogram of honey and drank a liter of red wine out of a glass. She then broke the glass with her hand, incised a star in her stomach with a razor blade, and whipped herself until she no longer felt pain. She lay down on an ice cross while a space heater suspended above caused her to bleed more profusely.
Tues, November 15: Marina Abramovic, Entering the Other Side (2005). Abramovic premieres a new performance created specifically for this project.
Ticket Information
Free performance admission with paid admission to museum on day of performance only.
Advance tickets available at www.ticketweb.com or at the Admissions Desk.
In conjunction with Marina Abramovic: Seven Easy Pieces
Friday, November 18, 6:30 PM
The artist and Nancy Spector, Curator of Contemporary Art, reflect on the experience of redoing and preserving important performative works.
Tickets for the lecture only
BOX OFFICE (212) 423-3587, MF, 15 PM
5th Ave at 89th St
For updated information please call (212) 432-3500 or visit www.guggenheim.org/exhibitions/opening_soon/index.html
Funding for Seven Easy Pieces has been generously provided by the Marina Abramovic Leadership Committee.?In-kind support provided by Chrome Hearts.
Marina Abramovic: Balkan Erotic Epic
Sean Kelly Gallery
December 9, 2005 January 21, 2006
Marina Abramovic is represented by Sean Kelly Gallery, New York.
