Marina Abramovic: Transitory Object for Human Use

Galeria Brito Cimino presents the exhibition Transitory Object for Human Use of works by world acclaimed visual artist and major performance artist Marina Abramovic. In three exhibition rooms at the gallery, Abramovic will show twelve works – installations and objects – created to trigger audience participation.

The selected works that Marina Abramovic brings to São Paulo are divided in two series: “Artist’s Body”, where she is performing and the public is watching, and “Public Body”, where she invites the audience to take part in the performance. Her works have been shown in the world’s most celebrated art venues such as Documenta, of Kassel; Venice Biennale, and Centre Georges Pompidou, among others. At this exhibition, in particular, visitors are urged to interact with the works after reading the instructions available about each piece. The time spent in interaction with each object depends on the individual visitor’s discretion. Abramovic expects the Brazilian audience to react to this show with its characteristic curiosity and feeling shown in her previous visits to the country.

Both the materials used in the creation of objects destined for an exhibition and their selection are extremely significant for the artist, in whose words “the audience may reach certain mental states with the aid of the material. The material is very important to me. I use crystals, human hair, copper, and iron. They all contain a certain kind of energy.” This exhibition bring countless materials to be viewed, felt, and experienced, as the ritualistic elements and the artist’s spiritual message are among the most important features for anyone who interacts with the work.

This exhibition brings works from the artist’s “Public Body”. In the words of Marina Abramovic, ”I am interested in performances that halt time. One becomes involved in it and forgets about time – this is the main objective.”

Works

Blending-In Coats (white cotton coats)
Time Energizer (aluminum structures with magnets)
Soul Operation Table (aluminum, neon, colored cotton canvas)
Rejuvenator of the Astral Balance (chair, metronome)
Black Dragon (blue quartz, pink quartz, hematite, green quartz, hyaline quartz)
Reprogramming Levitation Module (dehydrated chamomile flowers, copper bathtub, quartz)
Bedroom II (snowflake obsidian, wood, paint)
Waiting Room / Room for Departure (iron, black quartz, lapis-lazuli, hyaline quartz, chrysocolla)
Inner Sky (iron, amethyst geode)
Chair for Departure (iron, amethyst)
Red Dragon (oxidized copper, rose quartz)
White Dragon (oxidized copper, obsidian)
Mambo at Marienbad (iron, leather, magnet)

Marina Abramovic was born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. From the early days of her career, in the 1970s, when she attended the Academy of Fine Arts, the artist has been viewed as pioneer of performance as a visual art. The human body has always been her subject and her expressive medium. While exploring the limits of physical and mental limits of her own body, she has exposed herself to pain, exhaustion and danger in the quest for emotional and spiritual change through performances, sound, photography, video, and sculpture. Abramovic’s works not only integrate numerous public and private collections, but also have been shown in the most renowned international art shows.

Upon reaching the summit of her career, Marina Abramovic is described by her biographer, James Westcott, as the best known practitioner of contemporary performance art. In his words, her uniqueness springs from her being part artist and part performer. “Just as she is a charismatic performer, Abramovic has a refined sense of aesthetics. She masterfully creates intense images that by far will outlast her performances,” Westcott wrote.

Two events are scheduled in 2010 that will set milestones in the artist’s life. The MoMA – Museum of Modern Art, of New York, will present a retrospective show in her honor, and the Abramovic Foundatiom for Preservation of Performance Art will be inaugurated in Hudson, NY, as a not-for-profit institution devoted to the teaching and conservation of performance art. There will be no stages at the Abramovic Foundation; instead, there will be spaces for performance art. In addition to offering workshops and courses for the public, the foundation will create a library and a grant program. According to the artist, performances are transitory and passing, but the Abramovic Foundation will be the outstanding work that she will bequeath as a legacy: a milestone of time.

“We shall not teach artists only; we shall teach audiences all about performance art.”
Marina Abramovic - 2008