Dharma Kombat with Marina

i wasn't planning on sitting with Marina Abramović when i went to MoMA last week. but there were only about 10 people waiting, so i said, "what the hell!" little did i know that the lady siting with her at the time ended up being there for 4 hours! REALLY?! i love marina, i don't totally get her but that's fine, don't need to. i'm very interested in what she does and how she can make you feel uncomfortable and say to yourself, "REALLY, IS THAT NECESSARY?!" i think she's very generous in the way she shares her knowledge with others and integrates the performance artist lineage she comes from in her pieces. it was totally up to her to set no limits on the amount of time people can sit with her. the weekend before some guy sat with her for the full 7 hours the museum was open. i ended up waiting over 3 hours to sit 5 minutes with her. TOTALLY WORTH IT! why?, because like the show title, the artist is present - very present. i got my own yoga and meditation thing going on and have lived in ashrams, so i get the whole being present thing. but i still couldn't keep my shit together while sitting across from her. the second she turned her gaze to me - panic attack! i thought, 'this is fucking marina abramović!" - so focus and concentration flew out the window. my breathing went all crazy and i couldn't steady my gaze for shit! having her look directly at me and be totally present was something this multitasking gemini was not ready for. i knew the experience would be intense and i completely knew i wouldn't last more than 10 minutes.

But there's another reason i knew i wouldn't last too long - i wanted other people to have the experience. a few people on line ahead of me said since they had been there all day, they were gonna sit there as long as they could - why? stop grandstanding! one of the reasons she's performing this way and inviting the public to sit with her is so they can have a direct experience with the artist. i really feel strongly that these people with this attitude are missing the point by not allowing others this pleasure or discomfort. but marina knows all this. she knows that people will try, TRY to challenge her. that other performance artists will try to ride on her coat tails and try to make a name for themselves. she knows - so i'll shut up now.