I took an afternoon off from work for a cultural adventure in the city — to see the Marina Abramović retrospective at the MoMA and then to see Fela on Broadway. I am neither a huge fan of performance art nor spashy Broadway musicals, but both were fantastic.
Despite being explicitly bizarre, the Marina Abramović was very moving. For one, the exhibit is very well curated, and demonstrates both the depth and evolution of Abramović’s work. More remarkable, entering the exhibit transcends you to Abramović’s world; it’s as though you enter into an empathetic consciousness with her. What is otherwise shocking is somehow normalized — and extremely thought-provoking. I still haven’t quite sorted out what I think about the show, or what I think it means. Then again, maybe it’s not about thinking, but instead about the precise experience and sensation of entering and becoming suspended in Abramovic’s universe.
As to Fela, while I found some of it’s political message a bit heavy-handed, and it’s “audience participation” bit somewhat shtick-y (I felt a bit like I was being hit over the head with Bertolt Brecht’s fourth wall), it is nevertheless an extraordinarily well-produced and well-executed, high energy show. The choreography was impressive, simultaneously achieving clean, tightly executed routines and a sense of spontaneity and improvisation. It made me want to dance, which, on the evening we saw it, many audience members seemed to do in their seats.
In the end, I’m no critic. These are just a few of my thoughts, so don’t take my word for it. Go see them for yourselves …
(Photos via MoMA’s Flickr and the Google)
2 years ago
