Marina Abramovic seems like a sex symbol to me. I don't know if I'm just reading into it too much, or if my mind is in the gutter, but she definitely gave off that vibe. The repeated patterns of her painful actions struck me as oddly sexual in their character. First off, she is naked, so there is already a frankness and intimacy between her and the viewer parallel to that of a person and her lover. Secondly, she starts off brushing slow and steady, murmuring "Art must be beautiful; artist must be beautiful," until she starts becoming more violent with herself, and the strokes are faster, more vehement, and she is panting and her tone has become more fierce and she seems lost in this phrase she keeps repeating. Masochism, as we have read in
Macho Sluts, can be a huge turn-on in the eyes of sadomasochists. The average eye, however, cannot overlook the fact that Abramovic seems to be expressing herself sexually without the actual act of sex, but in the form of pain.
One thing that struck me both about both performances is the difference it can make where the camera is stationed. We were up close and personal with Abramovic, but not with Athey. We were watching him from further away, and hence our attention was honed in on the overall color of his body and the music we were hearing. The viewer focuses on different aspects of each video because of the way the camera is angled and stationed.
I think hair is prevalent in these videos because it is so strong. No matter how thin, or how lanky, or how weak hair may seem, it is usually one of the strongest aspects of our bodies, rooted in our heads and difficult to pull out with the simple use of hands or a hairbrush. Both these videos show the power of hair--Abramovic is trying to overcome the strength of it, while Athey uses it as a shield, a mask to hide behind.
Haha Shefali, first off I really want to say how much I love your title! It actually made me laugh. Your comparison of the two videos is something that had not occured to me before. I actually had thought that Athey was doing something like a "modern" male interpretation of Marina's work. I really agree with your analysis of the camera position. I was actually much more disturbed by Athey's video (I was waiting for some big bang or something to pop out at the end) than by Marina's because the camera showed a whole stage and scene. I also liked how you commented on the music, another thing that intensified the pain of Athey's video.
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ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with Christina, in that I like your idea of the camera angle/placement/distance adding to the overall emotional impact of the work. At least in my experience of the two videos, I found myself more apt to empathize with (or maybe, more accurately, "feel the pain of") Abramovic, and I felt more distant from Athey; this was probably a combination of the position of the camera as well as the fact that Abramovic was openly frenzied and Athey seemed psychologically vacant.
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