Document Type
Article
First Faculty Advisor
Julie Volkman
Second Faculty Advisor
Marie Saddlemire
Keywords
performance art; mindfulness; art
Publisher
Bryant University
Abstract
The purpose of this creative project is to conduct a cross-content interpretive synthesis on the “Intersectionality of Mindfulness and Art of MARINA ABRAMOVIĆ”. In this context, mindfulness is indicative of the conscious awareness of the present moment. Marina Abramović’s body of work explores concepts such as power and hierarchy, art and existence, artist and audience. Its extensive nature encompasses painting, photography, film, objects, installations, and, most famously, performance art. The works are vessels for journey toward inner freedom from suffering. This is why Marina Abramović declares: Art is transformation of matter. There is no “before” and “after.” What solely exists is the “timeless” situation, the energy field Here and Now. As for methodology, this review is heavily sourced from Marina Abramović’s retrospective The Cleaner. This compilation catalogue was produced in conjunction with Moderna Museet, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, and Bundeskunsthalle. Covering over five decades of Marina Abramović’s legendary works–the collection is accompanied by essays and curators’ insightful contributions. Supplied texts are access points to the art of Marina Abramović set against the backdrop of Balkan history and politics. Other featured sources include Marina Abramović’s autobiography Walk Through Walls and documentary Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present, as well as a number of international academic journals in disciplines such as performance art and psychoanalysis. As Marina Abramović’s oeuvre lives on through reperformances and analysis in new constellations, this thesis contributes an academic examination and communal exploration of the artist’s function: to be conscious-raising.
