1 THE PHENOMENON OF MARINA ABRAMOVIC AS A RE-ENACTMENT OF THE PASSIONS OF THE CONTEMPORARY ELITE Gennady Shkliarevsky Marina Abramovic is arguably the most celebrated contemporary artist in the world. She works in performance art that is currently regarded as the most avant-garde form of art. Abramovic, who is now 74, has once dubbed herself in jest as “the grandmother of performance art.” The name has stuck and is currently widely used to introduce Abramovic’s numerous shows and talks. In the course of her long and productive career, Abramovic directed and staged numerous performances that she presented in some of the most prestigious cultural institutions. Her shows at the MOMA, the Guggenheim Museum, the Serpentine Gallery in London, the Oxford University, and other prominent venues attracted a lot of attention. The performance “The Artist is Present” went for three grueling months at the MOMA and had over 850,000 visitors who waited patiently in line to take part in the performance. 1 Abramovic is a recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including the Golden Lion for Best Artist at the 1997 Venice Biennale for “Balkan Baroque” in which Abramovic scrubbed raw animal bones for hours despite the terrible stench that came from the pile. 2 These achievements hardly exhaust the list of Abramovic’s accomplishments. She wrote books, including her acclaimed autobiography, presented numerous talks, made films, and did much else. She has created her own method of performance art practice that is now studied in some of the most prestigious educational art institutions in the world and that she continues to develop. As a famous artist, Abramovic rubs shoulders with prominent artists, politician, and cultural icons. The circle of her friends and acquaintances includes the likes of Susan 1 Chris Chang, “Marina Abramovič: The Artist Is Present,” Film Comment, vol. 48, no. 3 (June 5, 2012), p. 73. Ben Luke. “‘It Is Dangerous for Artists When the Events of the Day Change Their Work’: Marina Abramovic on Art and the Coronavirus Pandemic,” The Art Newspaper, May 8, 2020; http://www.theartnewspaper.com/interview/it-is- dangerous-for-artists-when-the-events-of-the-day-change-their-work-marina-abramovic- on-art-and-the-coronavirus-pandemic 2 Freire Barnes, “The Time Out Interview -- Marina Abramovic -- How Do You Solve a Problem like Marina?; She’s Trained Gaga, Danced with Jay Z and Had a Loaded Gun Pointed at Her in the Name of Art. Now Marina Abramovic Is Attempting Her Most Daring Performance Art Piece yet: Doing Nothing. Freire Barnes Chats to the Serbian Superwoman.” England and Wales, 2014. https://advance-lexis- com.ezprox.bard.edu/document/?pdmfid=1516831&crid=8fbce15d-7351-4073-b9d2- 8573640fa1ba&pddocfullpath=%2Fshared%2Fdocument%2Fnews%2Furn%3AcontentIt em%3A5CD6-7R11-JCF0-600H-00000- 00&pdcontentcomponentid=246252&pdteaserkey=sr1&pditab=allpods&ecomp=gb63k& earg=sr1&prid=b200c4a7-02aa-47c2-a722-21932ef66828 p. 269.