Woman In Art Observation

Throughout my visit to the Hirshhorn Museum there were many video, drawing, and sculpture pieces that really struck me. However, the one instillation that spoke to me the most was a performance piece called “Woman in E” by Ragnar Kjartansson. While I was walking around the museum I kept hearing this ominous and melancholy guitar strum. I originally had thought it was some odd music playing over the sound system to give the entire museum an eerie feel - however, as I kept walking the sound got louder and louder until I arrived at this giant ring of gold tinsel hanging from the ceiling. I peeked inside the ring of these glimmering steamers to see a woman, standing atop a rotating circle platform which also covered in the same streamers, wearing a shimmering gold dress and playing an electric guitar. I immediately felt as if I was in a 1950’s sad prom night movie scene. With the atmosphere and the melancholy E-minor still ringing every 10 seconds or so, I felt almost sad, with a pinch of longing.
To me, the instillation truly represents and expresses the feeling of wistfulness and brooding lovesickness. The gold tinsel streamers really brought a sense of old school femininity while the depressing, endless E-minor chord brought the sensation …show more content…
Abramovic, often known as the mother of performance art, has many pieces that could be seen to represent love, lovesickness, and the like. However, to me, “The Artist Is Present” truly showcased the feeling of longing that Kjartansson emulates in his work. “The Artist Is Present,” held at the Museum of Modern Art, is an installment where Abramovic sat in a chair in front of a table across from another chair where visitors would sit for as long as they pleased - however, most only stayed for 5 minutes or less. Abromovic simply sat and stared at the visitors, looking them in the eye the entire time (“Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is