Marina Abramovic
Rhythm 0, 1974
Table with 72 objects and slide projector with slides of performance and text Variable
approximately: 200 x 500 cm
3 of 3 + 2 APs
Conceived in 1974 and executed in 2009, this work is number 3 from an edition of 3, plus 2 artist's proofs. Marina Abramović’s titanic Rhythm 0 from 1974 is an...
Conceived in 1974 and executed in 2009, this work is number 3 from an edition of 3, plus 2 artist's proofs.
Marina Abramović’s titanic Rhythm 0 from 1974 is an icon of the artist’s exploration into the limits of performance art. The present installation includes seventy-two objects carefully arranged on a long table, with a slideshow of sixty-nine stills projected above. The work is a visual relic - made in 2009 as part of the artist’s retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York the year after - of Abramovic’s performance that took place at Studio Morra in Naples in 1974.
The present work recreates the objects offered to the visitors of the Italian gallery, alongside instructions on what was expected of them:
Instructions.
There are 72 objects on the table that one can use on me as desired.
Performance
I am the object.
During this period I take full responsibility.
1974
Duration: 6 hours (8 pm–2 am.)
Studio Morra, Naples
(Klaus Biesenbach, Ed., Marina Abramović: The Artist is Present, Museum of Modern Art, New York 2009, p. 74)
Over the six hours, the audience could use any of the objects and interact with her immobile body in any way they saw fit. Amongst the vast array of objects were items like a gun, a knife, perfume, chains, flowers, and lipstick. At first, viewers were hesitant and generally gentle, offering her a rose to hold or writing on her body, but soon turned violent. Her clothes were ripped from her body, her neck was slashed with a razor blade and her blood drank from the open wound. The performance finally culminated with the artist being given the loaded gun to hold, pointed at her temple, at which point gallery staff stopped the spectacle and removed the gun. Abramović still has the scar from when she was cut, a permanent reminder of what she was able to endure. She also noticed at the end that a patch of hair had turned white from the stress her body was put under. When the performance was done, as the artist walked through the audience to leave, naked, crying, and covered in blood, everybody in the room ran away, as the gravity of what had occurred became real.
Rhythm 0 was the culmination of a series of artworks titled Rhythms: individual body art performance pieces, in which the artist explored the limits of the human body, both conscious and unconscious. The artist has stated about the performance, ‘the experience I drew from this work was that in your own performances you can go very far, but if you leave decisions to the public, you can be killed’ (Marina Abramović quoted in Frazer Ward, ‘Marina Abramović: Approaching Zero’, in Anna Dezeuze, Ed., The ‘Do-it-Yourself’ Artwork: Participation from Fluxus to New Media, Manchester 2009, pp.132–44). The performance exposed the ease with which a group’s behavior can be influenced by the simple absolution of guilt. By offering a definitive statement of responsibility, Abramović placed herself as an authority figure, offering the audience permission to act autonomously without the barrier of personal responsibility for their actions.
Parts of the progression of events in Rhythm 0 were similar to Yoko Ono’s 1964 performance Cut Piece, in which the artist instructed an audience to cut pieces of her clothing off as souvenirs. Like Abramović, Ono wanted to explore the limitations of an audience’s willingness to interpret and follow instructions, placing herself within an authoritative position and taking responsibility for the actions of others as Abramović had. Both performances invited viewers to step into an active role in the creation of art. The audience was free to act however they saw fit within the confines of Ono’s instructions: in her second iteration of the performance, Ono allowed the audience to cut each other’s clothing. Ono, however, always maintained a sense of overriding authority and stated from the beginning that she could stop the performance when she saw fit.
Abramović went a step further with her performance, relinquishing all control over her body and fully dehumanizing herself, famously stating that she would not have resisted rape or murder should the audience choose those paths. She was completely vulnerable to the whims of the crowd. It is impossible to ignore the sexual violence she endured. Her body was presented to the world, stripped from any social context or predetermined notions on how to interact with it, and yet sexual violence still found her. By willingly placing her body at the mercy of strangers, and relinquishing any choice to stop proceedings, Abramović highlights the vulnerability experienced by victims, whose choice is taken from them through the force of others.
When recreating the performance set up in 2010, many of the objects were secured to the table and deactivated, as Abramović did not want anyone to use the installation to recreate her performance. Instead, the objects are physical representations of the ritualistic nature of the performance: the long table draped in white acting as both a literal and metaphorical altar through which the performance was catalyzed. One of her most important and shocking works, Rhythm 0 is an incredibly poignant historical monument to a turning point in the boundaries of art - very few others have managed to so succinctly and viscerally illustrate the pleasure and pain that exists within the relationship between the artist and their audience. Through her ability to transcend physical and psychological pain through sheer mental strength, Abramović has cemented her status as a formidable force to be reckoned with.
Additional information: click here
Marina Abramović’s titanic Rhythm 0 from 1974 is an icon of the artist’s exploration into the limits of performance art. The present installation includes seventy-two objects carefully arranged on a long table, with a slideshow of sixty-nine stills projected above. The work is a visual relic - made in 2009 as part of the artist’s retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York the year after - of Abramovic’s performance that took place at Studio Morra in Naples in 1974.
The present work recreates the objects offered to the visitors of the Italian gallery, alongside instructions on what was expected of them:
Instructions.
There are 72 objects on the table that one can use on me as desired.
Performance
I am the object.
During this period I take full responsibility.
1974
Duration: 6 hours (8 pm–2 am.)
Studio Morra, Naples
(Klaus Biesenbach, Ed., Marina Abramović: The Artist is Present, Museum of Modern Art, New York 2009, p. 74)
Over the six hours, the audience could use any of the objects and interact with her immobile body in any way they saw fit. Amongst the vast array of objects were items like a gun, a knife, perfume, chains, flowers, and lipstick. At first, viewers were hesitant and generally gentle, offering her a rose to hold or writing on her body, but soon turned violent. Her clothes were ripped from her body, her neck was slashed with a razor blade and her blood drank from the open wound. The performance finally culminated with the artist being given the loaded gun to hold, pointed at her temple, at which point gallery staff stopped the spectacle and removed the gun. Abramović still has the scar from when she was cut, a permanent reminder of what she was able to endure. She also noticed at the end that a patch of hair had turned white from the stress her body was put under. When the performance was done, as the artist walked through the audience to leave, naked, crying, and covered in blood, everybody in the room ran away, as the gravity of what had occurred became real.
Rhythm 0 was the culmination of a series of artworks titled Rhythms: individual body art performance pieces, in which the artist explored the limits of the human body, both conscious and unconscious. The artist has stated about the performance, ‘the experience I drew from this work was that in your own performances you can go very far, but if you leave decisions to the public, you can be killed’ (Marina Abramović quoted in Frazer Ward, ‘Marina Abramović: Approaching Zero’, in Anna Dezeuze, Ed., The ‘Do-it-Yourself’ Artwork: Participation from Fluxus to New Media, Manchester 2009, pp.132–44). The performance exposed the ease with which a group’s behavior can be influenced by the simple absolution of guilt. By offering a definitive statement of responsibility, Abramović placed herself as an authority figure, offering the audience permission to act autonomously without the barrier of personal responsibility for their actions.
Parts of the progression of events in Rhythm 0 were similar to Yoko Ono’s 1964 performance Cut Piece, in which the artist instructed an audience to cut pieces of her clothing off as souvenirs. Like Abramović, Ono wanted to explore the limitations of an audience’s willingness to interpret and follow instructions, placing herself within an authoritative position and taking responsibility for the actions of others as Abramović had. Both performances invited viewers to step into an active role in the creation of art. The audience was free to act however they saw fit within the confines of Ono’s instructions: in her second iteration of the performance, Ono allowed the audience to cut each other’s clothing. Ono, however, always maintained a sense of overriding authority and stated from the beginning that she could stop the performance when she saw fit.
Abramović went a step further with her performance, relinquishing all control over her body and fully dehumanizing herself, famously stating that she would not have resisted rape or murder should the audience choose those paths. She was completely vulnerable to the whims of the crowd. It is impossible to ignore the sexual violence she endured. Her body was presented to the world, stripped from any social context or predetermined notions on how to interact with it, and yet sexual violence still found her. By willingly placing her body at the mercy of strangers, and relinquishing any choice to stop proceedings, Abramović highlights the vulnerability experienced by victims, whose choice is taken from them through the force of others.
When recreating the performance set up in 2010, many of the objects were secured to the table and deactivated, as Abramović did not want anyone to use the installation to recreate her performance. Instead, the objects are physical representations of the ritualistic nature of the performance: the long table draped in white acting as both a literal and metaphorical altar through which the performance was catalyzed. One of her most important and shocking works, Rhythm 0 is an incredibly poignant historical monument to a turning point in the boundaries of art - very few others have managed to so succinctly and viscerally illustrate the pleasure and pain that exists within the relationship between the artist and their audience. Through her ability to transcend physical and psychological pain through sheer mental strength, Abramović has cemented her status as a formidable force to be reckoned with.
Additional information: click here
Provenance
Acquired from Sotheby's, (Women) Artists Sale L22008 - 17 - 23 March 2022, Lot number 43Lisson Gallery, London, United Kingdom