Acclaimed American director, Robert Wilson, presents The Life and Death of Marina Abramovic in a new interpretation of the artist鈥檚 life and work.
Marina Abramovi膰 (b. 1946) is known for her ambitious performances. The self-proclaimed 鈥済odmother of performance art鈥 has been active since the early 1970s, and this year she will celebrate her 65th birthday. Her body of work is intimidating and sits within a tradition of art that includes such seminal figures as Joseph Beuys (1921-1986) and Bruce Nauman (b. 1941). Along with Beuys and Nauman, Abramovi膰鈥檚 practice has been fundamental in shaping a public understanding of performance art and elevating the status of this often under-appreciated art form to that of any other fine art. Although parallels are often drawn between performance art and performing arts, Abramovi膰 insists that the two are not comparable. There is much to distinguish the two, particularly when performance art is contrasted with the more traditional forms of theatre; however, as the boundaries and definitions of theatrical performance adapt and alter, it could be argued that there is room for change.
National Theatre Wales鈥 collaboration with Welsh performance artist Marc Rees (b. 1966) on For Mountain, Sand and Sea in June 2010 demonstrates the ways in which theatre and performance art merge and Battersea Arts Centre鈥檚 recent One-on-One Festival suggests yet another way of experiencing theatre. Manchester International Festival (MIF) is also promoting innovation, and has this year commissioned Robert Wilson to create a performance about Marina Abramovi膰鈥檚 astounding life. Although The Life and Death of Marina Abramovi膰 will not contain any actual works of performance art, it will explore the artist鈥檚 career and Abramovi膰 will perform, albeit in the role of actress. Wilson is perhaps best known for his work with Philip Glass on his opera Einstein on the Beach (1976) and is a visionary director who routinely stretches the limits of possibility within the theatre.
The production is presented in conjunction with Teatro Real, Madrid, and is the latest installment in a collection of theatrical pieces based around Abramovi膰鈥檚 life. Since 1988, Abramovi膰 has handed artistic control of her life story over to a variety of directors to manipulate as they desire and every five or six years a production of her life is staged.鈥娾The Life and Death of Marina Abramovi膰 will be the largest and all of the performers involved are significant in their own right.
The acclaimed US actor, Willem Dafoe (b. 1955), will perform alongside Abramovi膰, narrating and playing a range of different characters including Abramovi膰鈥檚 longtime partner Ulay (Uwe Laysiepen, b. 1943). Abramovi膰鈥檚 separation from Ulay was the event that inspired her to begin staging her life as theatre. For 12 years, the couple worked in absolute proximity to one another, forming a single entity and abandoning their unique and individual identities in pursuit of artistic understanding. Some of Abramovi膰鈥檚 most seminal works were created in partnership with Ulay and include Breathing In, Breathing Out (1977), a piece that explores one person鈥檚 absorption of another and the connection between the performers. In the work, Ulay and Abramovi膰 locked mouths and breathed together, exchanging air until both fell unconscious.
In 1988, Abramovi膰 and Ulay separated, both as collaborators and as life partners, and their parting was marked by their final performance, The Great Wall Walk (1988). Both performers started at opposite ends of the Great Wall of China and over the process of 90 days walked its length until they met in the middle, where their relationship reached its agonising conclusion. Abramovi膰 speaks about the impact of this experience: 鈥淚t was so incredibly painful, both emotionally and physically, that I spent a lot of time contemplating how to rid myself of this pain. I decided that to stage my life as theatre would be a great way to distance myself from it and liberate myself.鈥
Distance and time are key motifs in Abramovi膰鈥檚 performance art, but the decision to stage her life theatrically allows the artist a greater distance than a piece of performance art might: not only are the audience more removed but she becomes simply a performer in her own life, rehearsed and staged under someone else鈥檚 direction. Abramovi膰 is happy for the director to take complete artistic control: 鈥淭hey can re-stage it and edit it as much as they like; sometimes it鈥檚 a chronological story and sometimes it鈥檚 not. It鈥檚 up to them.鈥 For The Life and Death of Marina Abramovi膰 she handed all her writings, texts and other life materials over to Robert Wilson and awarded him free rein.
Robert Wilson鈥檚 production will explore aspects of Abramovi膰鈥檚 life and career, from her Serbian upbringing to her pivotal work as a performance artist. The performance will begin with a vision of Marina Abramovi膰鈥檚 funeral and progress through life to the rising of the soul. Abramovi膰 will perform in the production, but in a very different capacity to the way in which she usually works. She explains: 鈥淭his is the only performance in which I surrender authority. In my work I鈥檓 in total command.鈥 Indeed, many of Abramovi膰鈥檚 most notable works operate around the exploitation of control including Rhythm 5 (1974) and Rhythm 0 (1974).
Both of these performances experimented with limits: the latter pushed the boundaries between audience and performer, with the audience encouraged to take an active role in manipulating the passive performer with a selection of objects ranging from a rose to a gun. In Rhythm 5 (1974), the control lay not with the audience, but with Abramovi膰 herself. The performance involved Abramovi膰 jumping into a burning star, and at one point Abramovi膰 famously lost consciousness from the lack of oxygen in the centre of the star and had to be extricated from the performance.
This experience highlighted the role that consciousness plays in control: if the artist is not present they cannot be in control of the performance, an idea Abramovi膰 experimented with in later performances. Rhythm 2 (1974) explored the idea of incorporating unconsciousness into her artwork, utilising prescription drugs to alter her stage of consciousness 鈥 one to immobilise the body and one to immobilise the mind. This interest in control and freedom extends throughout Abramovi膰鈥檚 work.
Despite her assertions that Wilson has complete control, it鈥檚 easy to wonder whether, in offering her life as a theatrical performance, Abramovi膰 is still playing ringleader. After all, isn鈥檛 it another experiment in the possibilities inherent in trust and submission? It carries echoes of Rhythm 0 (1974) except that in this scenario Abramovi膰 hands the objects to another artist not the audience, and the passive performer that is being manipulated is as much the idea and the history of Marina Abramovi膰, as it is the performer herself.
The questions the performance raises about authority and self-subjugation on the part of Marina Abramovi膰 are intriguing, but they are certainly not the only thing fascinating about this production. Regardless of whether you see The Life and Death of Marina Abramovi膰 as another in a series of experiments in the artist鈥檚 work or as something that sits outside her oeuvre, it鈥檚 set to be a magnificent show. Wilson is known for his avant-garde pieces and The Life and Death of Marina Abramovi膰 follows in this tradition, featuring music from Antony Hegarty (b. 1971) of Mercury Prize-winning Antony and the Johnsons.
Working with Antony has long been a dream of Abramovi膰鈥檚: 鈥淲hen I first met Antony he was on stage singing. When I heard his voice I stood up in the middle of the theatre and asked: 鈥榃ho is this?鈥 He鈥檚 an angel.鈥 Antony has created nine new songs for the production and his lyricism, in combination with Wilson鈥檚 interest in movement and experience collaborating with Glass, suggests that The Life and Death of Marina Abramovi膰 is likely to push the boundaries of opera, incorporating theatre, art and music in new and interesting ways, showing performance art鈥檚 leading lady in a brand new light.
The Life and Death of Marina Abramovi膰 ran from 9 – 16 July 2011 at MIF continued to Madrid. .
Bryony Byrne
