Yesterday, Kerrie and I spent the afternoon in a beautiful random church downtown. We were bored and figured it was better to spend our time in a church rather than on the streets, where we would most likely get mixed up with thugs and hooligans.
In the past four decades, Marina Abramovic has almost died dozens of times in the name of art.
The self-proclaimed "grandmother of performance art" has stabbed herself with knives, immersed her body in ice for hours, experimented with drugs, and allowed strangers to molest her.
Her passion for the art form arose in the 1960s, when the Serbian 20-something-year-old participated in protests and sit-ins. Her behavoir at the demonstrations began alarming people. By the 1970s, she was conducting artistic performances that shocked the world.
For her first performance, Marina cut herself with knives and recorded the sound. In another, she took two prescription drugs, which induced seizures and then immobility, just out of curiosity to see how her healthy body would react.
One of her most legendary performances was in Naples when she allowed the public to prod, probe and abuse her body. Lying still on a table, she was surrounded by matches, lipstick, saws, nails, and even a gun with a single bullet. Visitors were invited to do whatever they wanted with her body. Nobody held back. The artist was marked, scratched, probed, drenched with cold water, and held at gunpoint. Afterwards, Marina was heavily shaken because she realized she nearly escaped death. She started being more careful in her experiments.
In 1976, Marina met Ulay, a performance artist from Germany. Together they created live performances where they ran around a room, drove their car inside a museum for 365 laps, and stood nude in a doorway, causing strangers to squeeze between them in order to pass.
They also created the "Death Self," where they connected their mouths and took in each other's oxygen for 17 minutes, until they fell to the floor unconscious, their lungs filled with carbon dioxide.
In 1988, the couple decided to end their relationship during a spiritual journey. They both walked the Great Wall of China, starting from the two opposite ends and meeting in the middle to say goodbye.
Marina's most recent exhibit, "The Artist is Present," was at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC last spring. Marina sat silently still for more than 700 hours, while spectators were invited to sit opposite her. The event attracted several celebrities, including Sharon Stone and Isabella Rossellini. More than 850,000 people attended, many staying in line overnight, for a chance to sit with Marina.
The results of the exhibit surprised Marina. Gazing into her eyes, thousands of people burst into tears after just minutes after silent staring. On blogs and Facebook, people shared their experiences with Marina, often citing it as religious or life-altering. The artist realized she had become a mirror for those people's emotions.
In order to prepare for the event, Marina had undergone a training program devised by NASA. She ate certain foods, so she didn't have to use the restroom for seven hours. She developed an unusual sleeping pattern. She meditated.
But sitting still in a wooden chair without armrests wasn't easy. The physical pain was almost torturous for the artist, but she persevered for the love of her art.
...kind of makes you wonder what you're doing with your life, doesn't it?
I've included a few videos you might find interesting:
A very short video where James Franco faces down the artist during her famous "The Artist is Present" exhibit last year.
A fascinating interview between James Franco and the artist. Watch if you are riveted by her work or you simply just enjoy watching James Franco talk and eat.
Lady Gaga gushes over her favorite performance artist, Marina Abramovic.
Wow. I seriously need to print out all your comments from my last post and tape them on the walls above my laptop. I had no idea my fellow bloggers could motivate me and inspire me so deeply. I am extremely grateful for your advice and sincere wishes. Thank you so much, sweet friends! Hopefully you will be hearing more about my progress soon!
I think my writer's block has a lot to do with a few things happening in my life recently. Not just being depressed about my unemployment, but also my empty bank account, my dying 10-year-old laptop, and other crap. Other crap being people around me.
Have you ever felt like everyone around you is living in another world? Not, like, another world all together and you're the outsider, but where each person is in their own separate crazy world and you're in the real one.
For example, I have two friends right now who are driving me nuts.
One is a disillusioned alcoholic who believes things which aren't true. Seriously. He will sit there and talk about how Chicago is always warmer than Dallas in the winter, and argue with anyone who tries to contradict him. He doesn't do it to be an asshole. He is just that ignorant. He really has no clue. And now he hasn't spoken to me since I e-mailed him a map of the United States and the link to the Wikipedia page for "weather."
My other friend is a fragile flower who wilts at the slightest infliction. She is super touchy. You cannot say anything around this girl without her taking it personally. I could casually mention that I'm craving pizza and she would retort "you know I got sick from pizza six months ago. Why the fuck are you talking about pizza? That is so rude. Are you going to apologize?" Ummmm...
And then there are strangers. Strangers who don't say thank you when I let them cut in line at the grocery store with one item. Strangers who slam into me while walking at the mall and then glare at me, like I did something wrong by being there. Strangers who stare at me blankly when I ask if anyone can spare ONE PENNY so I don't have to charge my lunch at Chipotle. Or perhaps the Chipotle cashier who won't let the penny slide.
I'm so sorry for bitching. I just needed to get all that off my chest. It's frustrating dealing with these people.
To make it up to you, I am sharing this short video I recently discovered. If you want something to brighten your day, this will do the trick. It works for me every time.
Have you ever reached a point where your biggest roadblock is yourself?
Last week was my year anniversary of unemployment. I have been jobless for more than 365 days now.
During the past year, I have been offered jobs which didn't make sense (i.e. being a political reporter where I would be working 60 hours a week with no overtime and no health benefits and earn minimum wage). I have been offered jobs, only to have them taken away from me before I start (i.e. "we just found out from corporate that we can no longer fill this position. I'm so sorry."). I have gotten my hopes up and my spirits have been crashed down.
It doesn't help that I'm part of an industry where millions of college graduates and millions of older people with experience are hunting in the same territory. I was a newspaper reporter for four years. Finding a job in my profession is like winning the lottery. I won it once, right after graduating college, so why should I win it again?
And now I have the opportunity to use my time doing something big. Something I have been TRYING to do for a year now: write a book. But I always get in the way. I'm so terrified that my hard work is simply not going to be good enough, that I don't even bother trying anymore. Does that make sense? I'm so scared of rejection, I start to shake every time I attempt going back to this project. I have pages upon pages of ideas and complete paragraphs and outlines. But I can't seem to put it all together. I can't seem to complete everything I want to say, even though it's at the tip of my fingertips. I'm too scared it won't be perfect enough for me.
It sucks.
And it's funny because I just typed this entire post in less than five minutes. I was able to pour my heart out so quickly to you.
...why is it so easy for me to write on this blog and yet so difficult for me to write for myself?
And each Super Bowl Sunday, I'm always surprised by how much I get into the game. That is a lot coming from me. I hate sports. So, I can only imagine how people who LOVE football feel this time of year.
Besides the game, I am also looking forward to the food. I am going to a Super Bowl party this afternoon where food will be a top priority. I can't even think straight just knowing how much deliciousness is going to occur!
And what would the Super Bowl be without the outrageous commercials? I heard there are going to be some great ones this year!
Here are a few of my favorite Super Bowl commercials from over the years. Enjoy!
Okay, one more French film and then I promise I'll lay off them for a while.
In the past couple weeks, I have been in a very hazy and philosophical mood. Early French films are the perfect brain food for me, as dumb as that might sound. Sometimes, I just need to watch films which force me to think. Force me to feel.
Les Biches provided that opportunity.
The 1968 Chabrol film focuses on the struggle between love and lust, friendship and power, and ignorance and understanding.
It revolves around Frédérique, a bored, rich lesbian with an icy demeanor. For amusement, she picks up a beautiful young street artist, named Why, who is drawing deer on a sidewalk.
Frédérique takes the homeless girl to live at her magnificent waterfront home in St. Tropez. Why is introduced to a dream world. She wears glamorous clothes at lavish parties. She lounges in the sun all day. She can have whatever she wants.
But being Cinderella comes with a price.
Although the two women are lovers, they will never be equals in the eyes of Frédérique. Why seems to be an object at the rich lady's disposal. She is not a girl. She is a pet, a servant, and a shiny trophy. It is a chilly, domineering relationship.
When a handsome architect, Paul, worms his way into their lives, the fragile relationship crumbles almost immediately. A tornado of jealousy, suspicion, and betrayal occurs.
The film is a bit slow-paced and forces us to regard a message almost always plaguing society.
Money does not buy happiness, especially when you have it your entire life. When you're too rich, people are easily purchased and easily tossed aside. Life is a never-ending battle between right and wrong.
As you may know, I am a bit obsessed with vintage Hollywood. One of my favorite aspects of that era is the costumes.
In the 1940s, 50s, and 60s, Hollywood fashion was determined by one woman: Edith Head.
Believe it or not, Edith started out as a Spanish teacher in southern California. Out of boredom, she took evening art classes.
Out of pure luck, the 27-year-old scored a job interview with Paramount Studios in 1924 to be a costume sketch artist. She was instantly hired. She started out designing costumes for silent films and her talent quickly made her one of the most famous costume designers in Hollywood.
Grace Kelly (above photo), and other movie stars, such as Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, and Bette Davis, have named Edith as their favorite costume designer. Director Alfred Hitchcock also claimed she was the best in the business.
She was nominated for 35 oscars 35 consecutive years in a row. She won 8 of them.
Here are a few sketches of some of Edith's most famous costumes:
Recognize this dress? It helped win Edith an Oscar for Best Costume Design.
This breathtaking ballgown worn by Grace Kelly stole the show in To Catch a Thief.
Another gown which earned an Academy Award for Edith.
Some Edith Head costumes in real-life:
Doris Day in The Man Who Knew Too Much
Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard
Kim Novak in Vertigo
Although Edith Head's career declined by the 1970s and she passed away in 1981, her legend still lives on. We enjoy her work through our favorite fashion icons. We see her in the most peculiar places.
Her success also lives on in our own hopes and dreams. It is never too late to change careers, to be a legend in a world you never dreamed possible.
After all, who remembers Edith Head as a Spanish teacher?
