Main content
The Museum of Modern Art
Unit 1: Lesson 7
Performance Art- Maria Hassabi | PLASTIC
- Yvonne Rainer: "The Concept of Dust, or How do you look when there's nothing left to move?"
- Jannis Kounellis, "Da inventare sul posto (To invent on the spot)"
- Marina Abramović
- Marina Abramović: What is performance art?
- Marina Abramović: Marina's first performance
- Marina Abramović: The Body as medium
- Marina Abramović: Documenting performance
- Marina Abramović: Teaching the next generation
- Marina Abramović: "Cleaning the House" workshop
- Marina Abramović: Performance vs. acting
© 2023 Khan AcademyTerms of usePrivacy PolicyCookie Notice
Marina Abramović: Teaching the next generation
Marina Abramović talks about teaching a new generation of performance artists. To learn more about what artists have to say, take our online course, Modern and Contemporary Art, 1945-1989. Created by The Museum of Modern Art.
Want to join the conversation?
What does Sal mean by the next generation?(4 votes)
What MoMA means is the next "great" performance artists to be on the stage.(1 vote)
How can performance be taught? Isn't it just contradictory?(2 votes)
It is same as any other art forms. The medium for the performance art is the body, so that it is the use of body that is being taught, same as learning to play a piano or to draw. In a performance art, the experience is the canvas and audience perceive this experience with all their possible senses. In order to get a performance come across, there must be a lot of things to be taken care of. Teaching performance art must also include sharing such experiences as this is such a new and vulnerable art form.(3 votes)
How can this exactly be taught to viewers?(1 vote)- It is the same as any other art form so it can be taught!(4 votes)
1:35- "mind and body cleanse" - what does this mean?(2 votes)
It means that you are being relaxed and peaceful and clearing your mind to think about what is being thought.(1 vote)
1:35Video transcript
(indistinct chatter) It is my duty to teach young generation about the experience in a performance. And I really think this
is a part of my work as an artist; a kind of
duty and responsibility. - She is probably one of the best teachers I've ever had, in just this one week. - So there's always
that suspended animation not quite knowing what to expect next. - And her criticism can be, it goes down with a spoonful of honey,
literally for some people, but it really does come from a place where she is not taking, she's just giving. And with a lot of people,
artists especially, that get to a level like, "Oh, I'm having
my own show at the MoMA", can get that important feeling
when you're around them. She relates to you like we're all just children in the playground. - Performance is all about the dialogue, energy dialogue, and being
present in here and now. Audience is like a dog;
they can feel immediately that you are afraid;
that you are insecure; that you're not in the
right state of mind. And they just leave; all tension is gone. - Learning my potential for concentration, Marina really showed us how to find it. - The challenges really,
to maintain this level of mind and body cleanse, and
she's definitely given us the tools to be able to do
that when the time comes. But these are things that are gonna be very challenging in New York City. - She already put us
through much more difficult circumstances than we will
face in the performance. I'm not gonna wait until
my first performance date to see what's it's like
to stand for 2 1/2 hours. - It's real lots of work to do
with yourself and your mind. And people think, "Oh, that's easy, just standing there and that's it." But it's not like that. It's very much demanding.