05/01/2015 09:10
B:
Marina Abramovic at Lisson Gallery
05/01/2015 09:10
A:
yesss
what did you think of it?
B:
05/01/2015 09:11
B:
well...the show itself, as a show, I didn't find it particularly good
I mean considering her body of work
A:
05/01/2015 09:11
A:
yes I agree
B:
05/01/2015 09:11
B:
I know they only chose a few things
A:
05/01/2015 09:12
A:
it was kind of an irrelevant retrospective on that tiny scale
B:
05/01/2015 09:12
B:
but I didn't think they chose that well
A:
05/01/2015 09:12
A:
perhaps something more contemporary would've been appropriate on that smaller scale
B:
05/01/2015 09:12
B:
I mean it didn't lead you through any kind of 'journey' or anything
A:
05/01/2015 09:12
A:
no
although I'm not sure if it was the intention
at the same time I think they must've had such limited access to exhibit what they did
B:
05/01/2015 09:13
B:
I think a retrospective, however small it is, should show at least the sum up of a period of work
A:
05/01/2015 09:13
A:
the white room I found pretty dull and uninspired, they had access to it and quite clearly the remainder was to facilitate that
B:
05/01/2015 09:13
B:
maybe
A:
05/01/2015 09:13
A:
yeah totally
but was it a retrospective? I can't remember?
B:
05/01/2015 09:13
B:
well, it was old work
so yes
A:
05/01/2015 09:13
A:
i think they should've ditched that idea and focused just on the white room even>
a very minor one in proportion to her body of work
B:
05/01/2015 09:14
B:
it was all old work, the white room wasn't new
A:
05/01/2015 09:14
A:
and it was pretty much the only free standing work there?
maybe the bird garden too?
B:
05/01/2015 09:14
B:
yes the room and the garden
but it's true that in the past she mostly did performance so
A:
05/01/2015 09:15
A:
but the documentation should've spanned a little further
or even just the documentation to support the garden and white room would've been more relevant
B:
05/01/2015 09:16
B:
to be honest, I don't even see the point in doing a retrospective unless you do a proper one
A:
05/01/2015 09:16
A:
that's what I'm getting at
I can't really view it as a retrospective
B:
05/01/2015 09:16
B:
yes exactly, they could have focused on one project
A:
05/01/2015 09:16
A:
i don't think it nearly meets the criteria of a retrospective
B:
05/01/2015 09:17
B:
anyway, apart from the set up of the show, I also have a problem with Marina Abramovic's work itself
or rather
A:
05/01/2015 09:17
A:
google says "an exhibition or compilation showing the development of an artist's work over a period of time."
and i think it was so far from that
yes
is this a subjective thing?
I've kind of avoided her as an artist myself...
B:
05/01/2015 09:18
B:
yes I guess
A:
05/01/2015 09:18
A:
i'll fix the grammar in that... I have avoided her as an artist, myself
what work didn't you like?
B:
05/01/2015 09:19
B:
I think when I was a student of art it was sort of considered a crime not to like her
the teachers themselves considered her a genius or something
so that also affected my viewing, because I felt 'forced' to like her work
A:
05/01/2015 09:20
A:
I'm not sure to be honest
she may very well be?! I just don't respond to her work
B:
05/01/2015 09:20
B:
but it never really interested me
A:
05/01/2015 09:20
A:
"Taking its title from an early, immersive sound environment, White Space presents a range of historic works by Marina Abramović, most of which have never been exhibited before. Featuring two important sound pieces, previously unseen video documentation of seminal performances and a number of newly discovered photographs, all dating from 1971-1975, the exhibition reveals the artist's first forays into a performance-based practice dealing with time and the immaterial, themes which have again become central to her current work."
A:
05/01/2015 09:21
A:
the exhibition was called white space
that's taken from the Lisson Gallery's website
B:
05/01/2015 09:21
B:
yes
A:
05/01/2015 09:21
A:
I think what they say is exactly what was there
it just wasn't very exciting
B:
05/01/2015 09:21
B:
yeah
A:
05/01/2015 09:22
A:
I didn't find her research inspiring enough, the documentation was too mild for me for some one who is considered a genius
B:
05/01/2015 09:22
B:
I think her work when she started perhaps was interesting and innovative
and yes, it is quite something that she became so famous and all she does is performance
A:
05/01/2015 09:23
A:
of course, in this climate and for our generation it's just not exciting at all
and I'm really over her publicity stunts
with Lady Gaga and Jay Z etc
B:
05/01/2015 09:23
B:
but now I think her work is just kind of ridiculous
A:
05/01/2015 09:24
A:
they use it as a commercial illusion of looking deeper
just out of control
B:
05/01/2015 09:24
B:
yes, and it's not even that it's a bad idea...it's also really bad work
A:
05/01/2015 09:24
A:
totally, and her desperation for our generation's approval comes across as a weak attempt for Jay Z to appear to be some intellectual yeah completely
B:
05/01/2015 09:24
B:
I mean I don't think that anybody can say that "Picasso Baby" is good
A:
05/01/2015 09:25
A:
not on any level at all
the song is ridiculous so the clip nearly bypassed me
anyway
i think it would have been better exhibition to show the research behind that
but probably wasn't any, anyway
B:
05/01/2015 09:26
B:
I think one point that was raised at the pub after the show and also at the seminar, and that I completely agree with, is that her work doesn't seem to have any sense of humor
her work or herself
A:
05/01/2015 09:27
A:
yes, I think i was sitting on a different table to you
but I agree
B:
05/01/2015 09:27
B:
which I think that, as a performance artist, is very important
A:
05/01/2015 09:27
A:
I can't respond to work as well as I'd like to when it lacks something satirical, even if slightly.... that's very subjective for me
ah of course, I think in anything that obscures the truth
B:
05/01/2015 09:28
B:
I mean if you know that you're going to get up and doing silly crazy things, even if your reasons for doing those things are completely serious, you need to have a bit of self irony
A:
05/01/2015 09:28
A:
totally
I think it's really hard to interact with an audience otherwise
B:
05/01/2015 09:29
B:
yes because it distances the artist from the audience
A:
05/01/2015 09:29
A:
it's a pretty universal language that allows audience to access a piece
yeah definitely
B:
05/01/2015 09:30
B:
I mean, her work now is supposed to be about creating a relationship
with her, right?
when she just sits there
A:
05/01/2015 09:32
A:
i don't really want a relationship with marina abramovic
I have to go let me know if you want to chat further?
B:
05/01/2015 09:33
B:
but that's the thing...I'm not sure if now her work is about her being who she is, or the actual work
oh ok
A:
05/01/2015 09:33
A:
2 days time the same time? I can edit this and end it
send it
B:
05/01/2015 09:33
B:
maybe we can continue another time on this
A:
05/01/2015 09:33
A:
neither, I think she's like a pop star who desperately tries to be relevant still
the madonna of the performance art world
yeah definitely
and when we run out we can move on
B:
05/01/2015 09:34
B:
yes ok
A:
05/01/2015 09:34
A:
have a good day xx
B:
05/01/2015 09:34
B:
ok have a good day!
