Marina Abramović & Ulay
In 1976, after moving to Amsterdam, Abramovic met the West German performance artist Uwe Laysiepen, who went by the single name Ulay. Thus began an intense creative relationship from which sprang some of their most controversial works. In Imponderabilia (1977, reenacted in 2010) two performers, both completely nude, stand in a doorway. The public must squeeze between them in order to pass, and in doing so choose which one of them to face. Watch video here.
In Breathing in, Breathing out the two performers devised a piece in which they connected their mouths and took in each other’s exhaled breaths until they had used up all of the available oxygen. Seventeen minutes after the beginning of the performance they both fell to the floor unconscious, their lungs having filled with carbon dioxide.
I just watched the Artist Is Present. She conducted a workshop with the young artists, who were re-performing her pieces during her MOMA 2010 exhibit and it was fascinating!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I watched a short vid on youtube about it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eejxcPnxhAA where did you see it?
ReplyDeleteI think we should just rip off the Breathing In Breathing Out piece.
ReplyDeleteI think that's a great idea. I personally find it to be their most effective.
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