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.
While some of Abramovic’s work might sound a bit hard-going, the context provided by Akers’ film makes it surprisingly accessible, while the real stars turn out to be the audience, whose natural, unguarded reactions to Abramovic give this film a transcendent, luminous and ultimately life-affirming quality.
If you’re sceptical about performance art, this might just change your mind.
A little pretentious maybe, but then you've got to wonder at a woman who could sit motionless in a wooden chair, eight hours a day for three months.
Fascinating.
Besides being a fascinating portrait of a life and a half well lived, it's an illuminating look at the plainly lucrative business of modern art.
Marina Abramović emerges from this arresting documentary as the Maria Callas of performance art.
Surprisingly effective documentary: smoothly structured and entertaining.
Interspersed with this are clips of her performances from the 1970s and 1980s, which may prompt at least two questions in the non-aficianado : 1) Is this pretentious? 2) Is it actually art? They are somewhat more difficult to answer, considering the likeable and down-to-earth nature of the woman herself.
Fascinating.
The power of art, artist and filmmaking reaches a critical mass at just the right moment and then it’s over, leaving you surprisingly shaken. The artist is present. It’s recommended you check her out.
An exhilarating, elegantly executed film that holds a mirror up to the art world, its protagonists and its devotees, forcing us to question the whole circus.
Whether you know of her or not, like her or not, understand her or not, you will get something out of this 100 minute film; you will know her. And for someone whose medium is live performance, this makes this film an incredible feat.
Profile: Matthew Akers on Marina Abramovic: The Artists is Present
Edinburgh Filmhouse, Edinburgh from Friday July 6, 2012, until Thursday July 19, 2012. More info: www.filmhousecinema.com
Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee from Friday July 6, 2012, until Thursday July 12, 2012. More info: www.dca.org.uk
Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow from Tuesday August 7, 2012, until Wednesday August 8, 2012. More info: http://www.glasgowfilm.org/theatre/
RSS feed of Cinema reviews