Marina Abramovic: The Artist Presents
Seductive, fearless, and outrageous, Marina Abramović has been redefining what art is for nearly 40 years. Using her own body as a vehicle, pushing herself beyond her limits – and at times risking her life in the process – she creates performances that challenge, shock, and move us. Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present follows the artist as she prepares for what may be the most important moment of her life: a major new retrospective of her work, taking place at The Museum of Modern Art.
3.7 out of 5 based on 10 reviews
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Omniscore:
|
| Certificate |
|
| Genre |
Biography, History, Documentary |
| Director |
Matthew Akers |
| Cast |
Marina Abarmovic, Ulay, Klaus Biesenbach |
| Studio |
Dogwoof |
| Release Date |
July 2012 |
| Running Time |
106 mins |
| |
Seductive, fearless, and outrageous, Marina Abramović has been redefining what art is for nearly 40 years. Using her own body as a vehicle, pushing herself beyond her limits – and at times risking her life in the process – she creates performances that challenge, shock, and move us. Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present follows the artist as she prepares for what may be the most important moment of her life: a major new retrospective of her work, taking place at The Museum of Modern Art.
Reviews
Empire Magazine
Damon Wise
“Pretentious it may be, but her work does have value, and in a time of reality TV and talent shows it’s great to see that there’s still an audience for such abstract and yet strangely compelling stuff.”
03/07/2012
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The Guardian
Peter Bradshaw
“The event does have something real to say: in our daily lives we never look intently, for a long time, into someone else's face, the mysterious primal seat of personality and identity.”
05/07/2012
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The Los Angeles Times
Kenneth Turan
“Abramovic is especially — and amusingly — frank about how much the MOMA show means to her. "After 40 years of people thinking you're insane and should be put in mental hospital, you finally get all this acknowledgment," she says. "I've been 'alternative' since I was born. Excuse me, I'm 63, I don't want to be 'alternative' anymore. I want to be respected before I die."”
15/06/2012
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Time Out
Dave Calhoun
“It tails off a little as we observe the show, but before then there’s a compelling section about her 12-year relationship with Ulay, who comes back into her life: scenes of them driving and bickering are tender and amusing, and it’s a powerful moment when Ulay joins her during the MoMA performance.”
05/06/2012
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The Times
Wendy Ide
“The unexpected treat of the week.”
06/07/2012
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Total Film
Simon Kinnear
“Akers’ document of the event skews close to hagiography but is consistently informative in charting Abramović’s career, and genuinely engaging thanks to his subject’s witty, unpretentious presence.”
29/07/2012
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The Observer
Jason Solomons
“If their affair were ever made into a movie, Marina would be played by Anjelica Huston and Ulay by Jeremy Irons. "Theirs is one of the world's great love stories," opines the very cool, eloquent and English-born Whitney Museum curator Chrissie Iles; and this documentary certainly probes that part of Abramovic's life with great thoroughness, even engineering a reunion between the pair.”
08/07/2012
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The Sunday Times
Cosmo Landesman
“Akers’s thought-provoking film raises intriguing questions. Is this art, therapy, celebrity or a Guinness World Records stunt? You decide. ”
08/07/2012
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The Scotsman
Alistair Harkness
“The film gives us a sense of how gruelling and thoughtful this potentially meaningless and narcissistic display actually is. But why is it art? That’s a question Ambramovic says she misses being asked in relation to her work, so it’s a little disappointing the film doesn’t provide any credible sceptics to counter the assemblage of notable critics, collectors and curators willing to testify to its importance. ”
05/07/2012
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The Financial Times
Nigel Andrews
“I respect Abramovic and her wish to push boundaries. I respect less, and suspect more, the New Yorkers queuing all night for their 10 minutes of cultural benediction or – my hunch, this being matriarchal America – pathological mother need. Gowned as if by Leonardo, Abramovic looks like the Blessed Virgin Marina. The weak weep before her gaze; the strong, bravely trying to throw some art back at her , are thrown out by MoMA guards.”
05/07/2012
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