Why Did a Controversial Artist Choose Public Orgasm as Performance—and Call It “Terrible”?
For the Abramovic, her works are an exploration of fear, and the ways in which both viewer and artist can experience it
Despite the immense psychological and physical demands of her work, Abramović’s career has seen widespread acclaim—much to the confusion of the public at large.
In 2010, she performed The Artist Is Present at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, where she sat silently across from visitors for 736 hours over nearly three months. More than 1,500 people sat across from her.
“So not really an artist. Just someone with serious mental health issues,” one reader wrote. “I’m sorry but this is vile, it is sensationalist and not art.”
Image credits: Marina Abramović Institute
Whether it’s bullets or orgasms, Marina Abramovic has made a career out of facing and exploring fear, an emotion she says sits at the center of all her performances.
“Anything I do before I start, I have enormous fear,” she said in the interview. “I get cramps in my stomach, I go to the bathroom, I just sit there… but the moment I’m in front of the audience, it disappears. Then I’m just there with them.”
“Fear is incredible. It is an indication that I am here 100 percent… The public feels the fear, they feel the insecurity, they feel everything.”
“Stupid.” Despite critical acclaim, Abramovic’s art remains misunderstood
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