MOMA Moments (Everyday Life as Art)

In the 1960s my Mom would take me to "happenings" which were often dancers, poets and musicians performing a "site specific" performance piece amidst a museum or gallery exhibit. Today the more appropriate name for these type pieces is "performance art."
My artsy family members and I were fortunate enough to experience Marina Abramaovic's "The Artist is Present"at the MOMA in 2010.

We had to pass through a human "doorway" of two nudes to enter the show. That reminded me of the time I saw our nude model from drawing class in the grocery store with his clothes on. I knew I recognized him, but couldn't place from where, til later on, which made me laugh. I wonder if those doorway people get recognized out in the world in that same way. It felt like that nude entryway was preparation to know "baring our soul" was going to be explored in the exhibit.

It's easy to feel what Marina was doing in this performance piece took little art talent to execute. But Marina is a highly trained artist and performer, lecturer and teacher. To see this show in process it may look like "why is this considered art just to sit there in front of onlookers?" The intriguing thing to see in this film of the last day of her show...is how just sitting in silence and looking deeply into anothers' eyes brings out whatever is inside of the people involved. We truly do project what's going on inside via the energy we put out.  Whether aware of it or not.

 This is a clip of the first day of the show when Marina's long ago lover returned to participate in "the Artist is Present."


And here is what Lady Gaga has to say about Marina...


"The Maybe" is the current art performance piece randomly exhibited at the MOMA...


And if life as art isn't enough to get an art observer entertained...there's always the scientific perspective...


Any thoughts?