The Artist Is Present Analysis

Patience is a virtue. In order to form relationships with others, individuals must expect barriers that will need to be carefully broken down to achieve mutual understandings. However, due to recent technological developments, modern society glorifies instant gratification. Individuals seek out ways to accomplish goals as quickly as possible, even if doing so involves neglecting small details or taking shortcuts. In contrast, Marina Abramović’s The Artist is Present asks its audience to stop, examine, and think. There are no shortcuts that can be used to form a genuine connection with another individual. Therefore, The Artist is Present illustrates how the concept of forming human relationships by understanding another person’s present emotions …show more content…
She is asking her audience to build endurance with her, because “the artist” referred to in the performance’s title is not just Abramović. “The artist” applies to every person who sits across from her. Ultimately, Abramović is performing by copying her participants’ performances. Abramović is a mirror of her participants’ feelings; consequently, the participants feel empowered as they affect Abramović’s emotions. Her performance cuts across institutional boundaries as she treats each participant with an equal amount of attention and respect. This attention emphasizes the importance of face-to-face communication in modern culture, even as humanity becomes more connected through text-based formats. Some internet-users may use images to illustrate emotions; however, many people still use screens as barriers to hide behind. They filter and conceal their true feelings online to avoid judgement from others. Additionally, although technology allows humans to imagine the future, “time is an unbearably large object [a person] cannot move” (Akers, 2012). Humans must be patient and live in the present if they wish to understand others, and The Artist is Present is a highly publicized event because participants …show more content…
690). Abramović builds upon these themes with The Artist is Present by allowing participants to achieve an understanding of nonverbal communication. The ideas of communication raised in Abramović’s performance connect to the ideas about “replay culture” raised in the piece “The Politics of Performativity in Replay Culture”. In modern societies, “the ‘mainstream’ is redefined daily”, and people “forget that everyday life can’t be so easily replayed” (Goodman, 2000, p. 288). Humans struggle to live in the moment, especially now that both the past and future are so easily warped by technology. Entire lives can be chronicled using online pictures, videos, and text. Virtual spaces offer us “an artificial dialogue across generations and critical perspectives” (Goodman, 2000, p. 289). However, “interactivity and power are not shared equally” (Goodman, 2000, p. 289). Non-face-to-face communication can easily be dominated by one party, since, without facial expressions or eye contact to study, humans struggle to understand each other’s views, especially across language and cultural barriers. Even a filmed performance is “lacking in one element: its presence in time and space” (Goodman, 2000, p. 293). The Artist is Present is effective because Abramović exists to her