(via Before Abramović, A History of Nothing) As might be expected, Marina Abramović’s new performance event at the Sean Kelly…
(via Before Abramović, A History of Nothing)
As might be expected, Marina Abramović’s new performance event at the Sean Kelly gallery, Generator, has attracted a healthy level of press coverage that is concomitant with her reputation. Based on a premise of collective sensory deprivation, and the unanticipated insights that this can confer about communication and identity, the Generator experience begins with the voluntary blindfolding of participants and with noise-canceling headphones being placed upon the same. Each gallery-goer attempts to navigate through their environment in this limited state, up until the point where they can raise a hand and be led out of this paradoxically theatrical environment. While this experience will likely be novel to many of her recent converts, the performance has clear precedents among the work of at least one other artist who helped to shape the performance and intermedia subcultures of the mid-late 1970s. Namely, at least two of John Duncan’s events — Maze from 1995 and Voice Contact from 1998–2000 — also involve the voluntary blinding of participants and the subsequent entry of those participants into an unfamiliar space.