This is a feature length documentary on MARINA ABRAMOVIC the celebrated Performance Artist as as she prepared for her major retrospective as Museum Of Modern Art in N.Y. in 2010. Premiered at SUNDANCE 2012 this is reprinted from my Festival Blog.

It is a major event for any living artist to be given a retrospective such as this and for Abramovic its essentially a chance to finally answer the question that has prevailed her whole body of work over the past four decades ‘is this art?’

It’s confession time for me (again) as I had not come across Ms Abramovic before but I was totally bowled over with this very intimate look as she started to prepare for her MOMA installation.  As well as getting some young artists to re-enact her ‘historical pieces’, she had decided to create this new one where she sits motionless and silent on a chair for six days a week for three months.  Opposite her was another chair where MOMA visitors can sit down quietly in front of her individually and she focuses all her attention upon them.  She is intent on exploring the physical endurance and limitations of the human body.

The reactions of all the ‘sitters’ was simply astounding and in this beautifully filmed documentary you share their sense of discovery as the camera reveals the intensity of the moment.

Asides from  the MOMA show the documentary included an appreciation of some of Ms. Abramovic’s career to date and of the way that her highly emotional work is intrinsically involved in her life. She is not only one of the most important artists of our time, but also a very warm and wonderful person too.  I am so so smitten.

P.S. I have just re-watched it now that HBO has released it on V.O.D. , and all I can say is that it is even more powerful the second time around : hence the rating that I given it.   TOTALLY UNMISSABLE.


★★★★★★★★★★