From the moment you are born, you could die. I think as an artist it is important to meditate on that.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the transient nature of life and the importance of reflecting on mortality as an artist.
Marina Abramovic's quote suggests that the awareness of our own mortality can profoundly influence an artist's work. By acknowledging that life is fleeting from the moment we are born, artists can cultivate a deeper connection to their creative expression, drawing on the understanding that each moment is precious and worthy of contemplation. This reflection can lead to a more profound and impactful artistic experience, as it underscores the urgency and significance of their creations.
In practice
During an art exhibition discussing the meaning of life and death.
All the aggressive actions I do to myself I would never dream of doing in my own life - I am not this kind of person. I cry if I cut myself peeling potatoes. I am taking the plane, there is turbulence, I am shaking. In performance, I become, somehow, like not a mortal.
I hate studio. For me, studio is a trap to overproduce and repeat yourself. It is a habit that leads to art pollution.
The function of the artist in a disturbed society is to give awareness of the universe, to ask the right questions, and to elevate the mind.
First of all, to do performance art, you really have to give 100 percent. I only know that I have to give 100 percent and then what happens, happens.
Theatre is fake... The knife is not real, the blood is not real, and the emotions are not real. Performance is just the opposite: the knife is real, the blood is real, and the emotions are real.
I want people to come to me open and vulnerable. When they come to the gallery, they have to leave their watches, their computers, their Blackberrys, iPads, iPhones, because we are so incredibly used to technology, and I wanted to remove that.
This is the role of writers: to turn their tears into a story - and perhaps into a prayer.
Music is, for me, like a beautiful mosaic which God has put together. He takes all the pieces in his hand, throws them into the world, and we have to recreate the picture from the pieces.
As for me, I am a watercolor. I wash off.
I don't usually give out advice or recipes, but you must let the person looking at the photograph go some of the way to finishing it. You should offer them a seed that will grow and open up their minds.
Jazz, to me, is one of the inherent expressions of Negro life in America: the eternal tom-tom beating in the Negro soul - the tom-tom of revolt against weariness in a white world, a world of subway trains, and work, work, work; the tom-tom of joy and laughter, and pain swallowed in a smile.
Artists can have greater access to reality; they can see patterns and details and connections that other people, distracted by the blur of life, might miss. Just sharing that truth can be a very powerful thing.
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