WalkThroughWalls

I had experienced absolute freedom. I had felt that my body was without boundaries – limitless. Pain didn’t matter, and nothing mattered at all. It intoxicated me.

In 2010, more than 750,000 people stood in line at Marina Abramović’s MoMA retrospective for the chance to sit across from her and communicate with her nonverbally in an unprecedented durational performance.

作者简介

“Ihadexperiencedabsolutefreedom—Ihadfeltthatmybodywaswithoutboundaries,limitless;thatpaindidn’tmatter,thatnothingmatteredatall—anditintoxicatedme.”In2010,morethan750,000peoplestoodinlineatMarinaAbramović’sMoMAretrospectiveforthechancetositacrossfromherandcommunicatewithhernonverballyinanunprecedenteddurationalperformancethatlastedmorethan700hours.ThiscelebrationofnearlyfiftyyearsofgroundbreakingperformanceartdemonstratedonceagainthatMarinaAbramovićistrulyaforceofnature.ThechildofCommunistwar-heroparentsunderTito’sregimeinpostwarYugoslavia,shewasraisedwitharelentlessworkethic.Evenasshewasbeginningtobuildaninternationalartisticcareer,Marinalivedathomeunderhermother’sabusivecontrol,strictlyobeyinga10p.m.curfew.Butnothingcouldquellherinsatiablecuriosity,herdesiretoconnectwithpeople,orherdistinctlyBalkansenseofhumor—allofwhichinformsherartandherlife.ThebeatingheartofWalkThroughWallsisanoperaticlovestory—atwelve-yearcollaborationwithfellowperformanceartistUlay,muchofwhichwasspentpennilessinavantravelingacrossEurope—arelationshipthatbegantounravelandcametoadramaticendatoptheGreatWallofChina.Marina’sstory,byturnsmoving,epic,anddrylyfunny,informsanincomparableartisticcareerthatinvolvespushingherbodypastthelimitsoffear,pain,exhaustion,anddangerinanuncompromisingquestforemotionalandspiritualtransformation.Aremarkableworkofperformanceinitsownright,WalkThroughWallsisavividandpowerfulrenderingoftheunparalleledlifeofanextraordinaryartist.