On Sitting with Marina Abromovic

After a failed attempt, I went back to the MoMa for another chance to sit with Marina Abromovic in her performance piece called "The Artist is Present." On Monday, I had waited in line for four hours along with my friend Judith from Scotland (seated above on the right). We were the next in line and then the museum closed. So we decided to go back on Wednesday, early morning...

We waited in line for 2 hours on Wednesday. Judith went first. She sat across Marina for 45 minutes and when she came back, she was so calm. She said that she felt a circular flow of energy going back and forth between her and Marina. Judith has been practicing meditation for a while and her training as an actress, probably prepares her more for going within herself. I was next. And seeing Judith calmed my nerves a bit. And I figured waiting in line for 6 hours qualified me for sitting still for a fraction of that.

When I sat down across from Marina, I immediately felt a vibration. My heart started beating very fast and my throat tightened. Once Marina focused her gaze on my eyes, I became even more nervous. I tried to communicate with her through my eyes. I kept asking her questions: 'why are you doing this? what are you trying to teach us? thank you Marina..thank you Marina...breathe. Calm down or she might get up and walk away'...my mind was racing. I couldn't slow my breathing much and I started to get very uncomfortable. How can she be so still? As if she wasn't even there. I felt like I was in competition with a Zen Master. She is definitely a Zen Master. I stood up after 10 minutes, thanked her and walked away. It was very intense. I'm inspired and motivated to practice meditation regularly now and perhaps one day, I can sit still for longer than 10 minutes..

GaGa for Edgar Degas!

Today was the first day of Spring in New York. I rode my pink bike across Central Park over to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, praying they would have parking space for bicycles and they DID!!! Oh joy! I just bought this bike two weeks ago and I've been dying to ride it through the park but it has been raining every single day since. And the fact that I have no regard for bike paths or wearing proper attire (like a helmet) makes me the perfect candidate for getting yelled at by random people on the streets of New York City. Sorry folks!

So, I made it to the Met and I had no idea what I wanted to see. I took the elevator to the 2nd floor to the paintings floor. I randomly selected a hall and that's where my eyes started to go GaGa OooLaLa! Who is this amazing painting by?..and this one? and this one? All by Edgar Degas, the French impressionist painter. At the museum, I learned that he liked to paint from pictures and enjoyed photography, which is why the composition of most of his paintings are very spontaneous and realistic, like in the 'Absinthe' (see below.)

I rushed home to read more about this amazing talented artist and here are some interesting factoids:

1. Had a long 60 year career and never married. When asked why he never married, he said he never wanted to hear his wife say that his paintings are "pretty". How genius is that? I love that answer because it's hilarious.
2. Eldest of 5 children and from a wealthy family of bankers. I don't know anything about art history but I doubt many famous painters came from wealthy families...?
3. BFF with Manet, who was almost the same age as he and came from a prosperous family. They hung out at the same cafes, in the same social circles and influenced each other's works.
4. Influenced by music and Opera, which is why the subject of many of his paintings were dancers, often in spontaneous poses. This one looks like a photograph and you can almost hear the instructor talking if you pay close attention...I kidd.

Toward the end of his life, Degas started to go blind and he changed his style of painting to accommodate his deteriorating eye sight. Renoir once said that "Degas painted his best things when he couldn't see anymore" (see example below).

He did become very famous while he was still alive and sold paintings for very high prices but he never wanted the attention. He once said "I would like to be famous but unkown!" He really believed that artists must live alone and their private lives must remain unknown. Sounds like a bit of a uppity grouch to me but who cares about his personality..his work speaks for itself. Edgar died at 83 years of age.

Happiness

Eudaimonia. The dictionary meaning of it is pleasure, contentment, joy and good fortune..the English translation of this Greek word would be "Happiness." In Western world, happiness is often defined through material things e.g. wealth, employment and beauty. but in Eastern philosophy, the material world is all an illusion. It's really about letting go of those things which separate us from one another, becoming one with the Universe or God...or as the Persian poet Rumi said:

"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right doing there is a field. I’ll meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about. Ideas, language, even the phrase “each other” doesn’t make any sense."

How can one paint happiness? Would it be a blank canvas? A yellow smiley face? To me, nature is happiness and that's where I'm most relaxed. I need to go back to this spot.

Marina and Performance Art

Today, I sat in line for 3 hours, waiting to share a seat at the table with Marina Abromovic in the middle of Museum of Modern Art as part of her performance: "The Artist is Present". I did manage to be the first in line but by that time, the museum was closing; as the person in front of me insisted on sitting with Marina "for as long as she possibly can" (1.5 hours). I couldn't believe that Marina will sit there, silently staring into space for 8 hours a day for the next 2.5 months!!!! There was something so serene and pleasant about the experience, especially in the midst of a crowded city like New York. Her face was so relaxed (much like the picture of her above) and she was very much present in the moment. This will be her longest performance to date.

I may even go back to the MoMa later in the week for the chance to sit with her. How often do you get to say that you were part of a museum exhibit? Although some people take it to a whole other level i.e. one person sat with her for the entire day, as I was told by the security guard. The point is to be present and sit in an uncomfortable wooden chair without moving or talking, just breathe...I think sitting in line for 3 hours prepared me for at least a 30 minute performance with Marina. She made me very curious about Performance Art, in which the idea behind the work is as important as the work itself, in other words, it's more intellectual than aesthetic.

Joseph Beuys, a charismatic German artist and political activist, was one of the major pioneers in performance art. In 1974, he spent 3 days in a small room in New York with a coyote in a performance he called I like America and America Likes Me. Not too many people saw it but it definitely made an impact through the shocking images such as the one here..isn't it out of this world?

Performance art questions our assumptions about what qualifies as art, the role of the artist, the viewer and even the museum in presenting the artwork. Seeing Marina at MoMa today, definitely changed my perception of art. I can't wait to sit with her!

The Artist is Present

Oh my goodness, I cannot be more excited about today's activity: catching the Maria Abramovic installation, 'The Artist is Present' at the MoMa, which opened yesterday. I better head over before tickets are sold out...

I don't have a clue about her work but I saw an article about her in the NyTimes last Friday and I got so excited. I'm heading over now..will blog about it later tonight.

Haitian Girl and Piercing Eyes

I was upset for a few days after I saw this little girls' image on the home page of NYTIMES, which inspired me to paint her face. She is so beautiful and the look in her eyes brought tears to mine. I wonder what is her name and how she is doing now..was that her mother holding her hand?

I incorporated the colors of Haiti's flag into the painting as well as the feel of the earthquake. What do you think? (keep in mind this was only my 4th oil on canvas ever...without formal training)

My Green Voice

My 5th painting is my first original work. It was inspired by the green movement happening in Iran. I was having a lot of strange dreams after reading about all the arrests, tortures and killings happening all over the country. One of my dreams was about a girl trying to scream but all that was coming out was green smoke...no voice. . I woke up, put my blank canvas on the easel and proceeded to draw.

I can't draw or paint smoke so I had to come up with something else. Since I don't have formal training or much practice, the painting is very flat. As my new art instructor describes it, it is "poetic but crude". I want to do a few different versions of it. To me, this painting represents a very strong woman who has the courage to speak, despite the fact that she is stripped of everything and she has been through many many hardships. One part of her is crying, falling toward the earth and shielded. Another part of her is singing / screaming and moving forward with a strong stride. What do you think of it?