Marco Anelli photographed every person who sat opposite Marina Abramović during her marathon staring sessions at MoMA (© Marco Anelli)
The Strand Book Store
Third Floor Rare Book Room
828 Broadway at 12th St.
Tuesday, October 16, 7:00 (must buy copy of book or $10 Strand gift card)
212-473-1452
www.strandbooks.com
www.marcoanelli.com
In the spring of 2010, Yugoslavian-born performance artist Marina Abramović sat in a chair in MoMA’s atrium for seventy-eight days, staring deeply into the eyes of individual visitors as part of the retrospective “The Artist Is Present.” It was a powerful sight to see, filled with energy and emotion. Earlier this year, Matthew Akers documented the immensely popular event in a film also titled The Artist Is Present, going behind the scenes of Abramović’s creative process. Now Italian photojournalist Marco Anelli, who specializes in photographing long-term projects, has published Portraits in the Presence of Marina Abramović (September 2012, Damiani, $40), which captures every single person who sat across from Abramović and includes the amount of time they did so. (People were allowed to sit for as long as they wanted, from several minutes to many hours.) The book also features pieces by Abramović and curators Klaus Biesenbach and Chrissie Iles. On Tuesday, October 16, Abramović and Anelli, who pulled off quite a feat of duration himself, will discuss the project in a special presentation at the Strand. You must purchase a copy of the book or a $10 Strand gift card in order to attend what should be a fascinating discussion.