Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present review

A documentary following Serbian performance artist Marina Abramovic

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After decades of stigma for her radical, violent work, performance artist Marina Abramović finally achieved mainstream acceptance in 2010, when she sat immobile for three months at New York’s MoMA while the public took turns to face her.

Matthew Akers’ document of the event skews close to hagiography but is consistently informative in charting Abramović’s career, and genuinely engaging thanks to his subject’s witty, unpretentious presence. If you’re sceptical about performance art, this might just change your mind.

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