Marina Abramovic: the Artist is Present
MARINA ABRAMOVIĆ: THE ARTIST IS PRESENT - Opens Friday, June 15th
22/05/12 16:11
With Marina Abramović, Ulay and Klaus Biesenbach
Opens Friday, June 15th
Toronto at the TIFF Bell Lightbox
Vancouver at 5th Avenue
Winnipeg at The Globe
Also Opens Friday, June 29th, Calgary at The Globe
and Friday, August 12, Broadway Theatre, Saskatoon
Toronto Press Screening Confirmed: Wednesday, May 30th, 10:00am @ TIFF Bell Lightbox
Matthew Akers’ Marina Abramović: the Artist is Present is opens in theatres on Friday, June 15th, 2012 in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Winnipeg.
Testing her mental and physical limits with shocking, compelling and sometimes dangerous performances, Marina Abramović has been challenging the way people think about art for nearly 40 years. Using her own body as a vehicle, pushing herself beyond her physical and mental limits––and at times risking her life in the process––she creates performances that challenge, shock, and move us. Through her and with her, boundaries are crossed, consciousness expanded, and art as we know it is reborn. She is, quite simply, one of the most compelling artists of our time.
She is also a glamorous art-world icon, a lightning rod for controversy, and a myth of her own making. She is most certainly unlike anyone you have ever met before.
Marina Abramović:The Artist is Present looks back on Abramović’s prolific career, and follows her as she prepares herself and a group of artists for a major retrospective of her work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
The centrepiece of the show is Abramović’s mesmerizing new performance, The Artist Is Present, involving her constant seated presence in the gallery space for the length of the three-month exhibition, during which she is available for one-on-one silent interaction with members of the public. It will be the longest-duration solo work of her career, and by far the most physically and emotionally demanding she has ever attempted.
When she conceived it, she says, she knew instantly that it was the right piece because the mere thought of it "made me nauseous." The work's simplicity and purity has the potential to crystallize all that is best about her art, but it also demands that Abramović return to her roots––and forgo the overt theatricality that has characterized many of her recent performance pieces.
Countless intimate and individual connections are made between the artist and her scores of participants; through each encounter, as Abramović says, “performance becomes life itself.”
Matthew Akers is an accomplished producer, director, photographer and cinematographer. Recently, he was the series producer and cinematographer on a National Geographic television series about the medical marijuana industry in Colorado. He has worked on several other film series and documentaries including ones for PBS and HBO.
Marina Abramović is represented by Sean Kelly Gallery, New York.
Running time: 89 min
Official Website: http://marinafilm.com
Trailer: http://filmswelike.com/films/marina/ or http://marinafilm.com/view-trailer
For further information, images and press notes: http://filmswelike.com/films/marina/
Toronto Press Screening:
Wednesday, May 30th, 10:00am @ TIFF Bell Lightbox
To RSVP to the press screening and for further information, please contact:
V Kelly + Associates, 416-466-9799, info@vkpr.ca