Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present (2012)

Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present: Directed by Matthew Akers, Jeff Dupre. With Marina Abramovic, Ulay, Klaus Biesenbach, David Balliano. A documentary that follows the Serbian performance artist as she prepares for a retrospective of her work at The Museum of Modern Art in New York.

“I remember when there were people going to MOMA in droves to sit across from some artist Iu0026#39;d never heard of. I heard people say it was a very moving experience. It sounded nuts to me. So I was curious to see if I could get a sense of what it was all about from this movie.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI suppose I did, a little bit. The movie is made by people who want to be a bit artsy about it all, with jump shots and some shaky camera-work, but it does give you the basics. Marina is a long-time performance artist who specializes in feats of endurance, like running repeatedly into a wall or sitting naked on a bicycle seat for hours. She is very sincere, very determined, and seems to be someone who lives her art. There are scenes of her with her ex-partner/lover in which she is driving and cooking dinner which give you a glimpse into the mundane aspects of life that even those living for their art experience.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMost of the second half of the movie is devoted to her three months sitting staring at people who stare back. You see how physically grueling the experience is, you see how moved many people are, and you say how insane things got, with people camping out all night, desperate to get in early enough to spend some time having a famous artist stare at them.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe movie doesnu0026#39;t really recreate the experience. Itu0026#39;s rather glossy at times, with a soundtrack that Iu0026#39;m sure creates a different experience than what I assume was simply the buzz of the crowd and the noise from any video projections nearby. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIu0026#39;m amazed that some people here said they were moved by this movie. Itu0026#39;s an interesting view of a performance artist, offering occasional mild insights from her friends and giving some understanding of her approach.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIu0026#39;m also surprised that some people expected more of this movie, like a complete investigation of her career, or questions into how performance art fits into the art world. The movie is called The Artist is Present, and itu0026#39;s focused on that show, and that piece, and itu0026#39;s by someone who clearly buys into performance artist (Iu0026#39;ve always thought this sort of thing was interesting but kooky). Itu0026#39;s exactly the sort of documentary I would expect someone who is intrigued by Marina would be inclined to make.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe movie absolutely did not make me wish Iu0026#39;d gone up to MOMA to stare at her, although it makes me feel, just a little, that maybe I should have gone up to see the recreations of her previous pieces and take a quick peek at her face-offs. But itu0026#39;s not something Iu0026#39;m losing sleep over.”