Matthew Rose shares thoughts about performance art, upon reading Marina Abramović’s memoir, “Walk Through Walls.” He reflects on the history of the art form, looking at Marcel Duchamp’s Rrose Selavy, Yves Klein’s “Leap into the Void,” and in the 1970s, Chris Burden’s “Shoot.” Abramović’s endurance performances focus on provocation and trust and, he says, over time they betoken the artist’s persistence as a performer in the public realm.
Read MoreAbramović through her defensive statement is trying to sequester her racism to a past self and exonerate her current self in infallible righteousness. If she claims responsibility, it is at best a weak claim that belittles the simple and inescapable truth–the racism that produced her journal entry all those years ago is a part of white identity. A terrible truth that needs confrontation, acceptance, and action–not negotiation or qualifications.
Read MoreHELLO!
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