Art Without the Fear Factor

During the past three decades, Marina Abramovic has become known for her raw, unnerving performances in which she uses her body to test the limits of endurance, often placing herself directly in harm’s way. The artist has whipped and lacerated herself, frozen her body on blocks of ice, and nearly choked to death while lying inside a curtain of oxygen-devouring flames. Abramovic’s performances serve as experiments investigating her physical and mental potential and her relationship with the public; some only reached completion when the audience intervened. The Belgrade-born artist, who grew up behind the Iron Curtain, has often referred to her early works as “ritual purifications” designed to free her from her past. As part of the Steven & Dorothea Green Critics’ Series at Florida International University, the pioneer performance artist will discuss her most recent performance, Seven Easy Pieces, in which she reenacted several milestone performances by her peers dating back to the Sixties and Seventies at New York’s Guggenheim Museum in 2005. Tonight’s event takes place at FIU’s University Park Campus of FIU, Green Library, room GL 100,
Fri., March 30, 8 p.m.