Marina Abramovic Is Hard to Break Up With

Jesus! Do they realize that leaving that thing on all the time is like leaving a treadmill going non-stop? Worse, probably-- those are CRTs from the 1990s. Have they been checked to see if they are at least EnergyStar compliant?

http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/collections/collection-online/show-full/piece/?search=abramovic&page=1&f=quicksearch&cr=2

Here, read this:

The tensions between abandonment and control lay at the heart of her series of performances known as Rhythms (1973–74). In Rhythm 5, Abramovic lay down inside the blazing frame of a wooden star. With her oxygen supply depleted by the fire, she lost consciousness and had to be rescued by concerned onlookers. In Rhythm 10, she plunged a knife between the spread fingers of one hand, stopping only after she had cut herself 20 times. Having made an audio recording of the action, she then played back the sound while repeating the movements—this time trying to coordinate the new gashes with the old. Using her dialogue with an audience as a source of energy, Abramovic created ritualistic performance pieces that were cathartic and liberating. In Rhythm O, she invited her audience to do whatever they wanted to her using any of the 72 items she provided: pen, scissors, chains, axe, loaded pistol, and others. This essay in submission was played out to chilling conclusions—the performance ceased when audience members grew too aggressive.

People sometimes do surprisingly aggressive things when they're stupid, bored and someone's egging them on. It's like an episode of Jackass, but then you have to read an essay afterward.

And then there's this scene right out of a Hippie Twilight:

From the early to mid-1980s, [Ulay and Abramovic] presented their Nightsea Crossing works, in which they sat silently and motionless for anywhere from several hours to sixteen days. After two years traveling in China, in 1988 Abramovic and Ulay spent almost three months walking toward each other from opposite ends of the Great Wall of China. Upon meeting, they formally ended their relationship.

Well, no. Hippies probably couldn't stay silent that long. A junkie on the nod could, though.