54 | / Od završne „tačke“ se oslobađanje emocija i moglo očekivati. Od nas hiljada je zatražila da na rame fizički najbližeg gledaoca stavimo ruku, zatvorimo oči i ćutimo sedam minuta. Gestom je htela da nas nauči da volimo celo čovečanstvo, a ne samo devojku, muža, rodbinu... Kroz misli su mi promicali svi poznati ljudi, pa i neprijatelji, koje je teže empatijom obuhvatiti, po rečima dalaj-lame, koje je Marina reinterpretirala u svom umetničkommanifestu rečima da „umetnik mora da nauči da oprosti“. Šta sam prenela prvoj do sebe, govori podatak da mi se ona na kraju zahvalila. Ipak je za mene najpotresniji Marinin i Ulajev rad Ljubavnici, koji su izveli hodajući jedno ka drugompoKineskomzidu. „Ideja je bila da se venčamo kad se sretnemo, ali smo na dozvole tadašnjih kineskih vlasti čekali sedamgodina, za vreme kojih se naša ljubav ohladila“, tako je Marina rekla, iako ni tada nije bila ravnodušna. Susret je stoga značio rastanak, koji je strastvena umetnica teško prebolela. Nakon završnog ekstatičnog aplauza svi smo se polako razišli, uglavnom uz komentare da je predavanje bilo izvrsno. Ja sam ćutala, jer umetnost doživljavam iz stomaka, kako Marina i preporučuje, a stomaku treba duže da svari viđeno i doživljeno. I tek onda iznedri racionalni zaključak, bez uticaja njene neodoljive harizme. order to get inside, just as Marina and herpartnerUlayhadstoodat thedoors of the Modern Gallery in 1977. I overcomeacertaindiscomfortandstroked thehandsomeyoungmanontheback of his hand. Her works with Ulay and departure for the Netherlands were preceded by a series of Marina’s performances at the Students’ Culture Centre in Belgrade, which Belgrade artists had fought for from Tito in the early ‘70s. Instead of the chess games of senior o cers and their wives’gossipparties, hereanew, conceptual formof artwas developed.Marina’smost famous performancefromthisperiodisRhythm5, inwhichshe laidwithinaburning vepoint star and almost su ocated.“I fell unconscious from the smoke, and the amesarealreadycaughtmylegwhen a doctor from the audience reacted,” said Marina, revealing her sacri ce in settling accounts with history. Her “Rhythm 0” work is also well knownandwas performedbyour star inNaples,whensheo eredobjects for visitors tothecity’sGallery72tousedo whatever they wanted to her. Initially constrictive, over the course of the sixhourperformancetheybecameincreasingly ruthless.“Theycutmyclothes, injured me with a razor blade, placed a gun in my hand to see if I would dare to shoot myself”. In order to be able to emotionally endure all of this, Marina anaesthetised her consciousness. Upon the culmination of the performance, the audience ed. “No one wantedtocommunicatewithmewhile Iwasbloodyandhalf-naked,”whichMarina found tough. But she left it up to us todiscernwhether thevisitorswere ashamed of their actions, or whether they’veenteredatrance, justlikeher.She then decided that in future she would provoke only positive emotions and would no longer risk her life. However, she continued striving for extremes of endurance, so in one work she and Ulay screeched at each other for hours. In a desire for us to also feel some of the energy of the performance,Marinagaveusanexercise– toreleaseourvoiceswithallourmight. I didn’tsparemyself,soIendedupcrying. The release of emotions from the nal“point”couldhavebeenexpected. She asked the thousand of us to place a hand on the shoulder of the viewer closest to us, to close our eyes and remainquiet for sevenminutes.Withthis gesture shewanted to teachus to love humanity as a whole, and not just our girlfriends,husbands, relatives...Stirring throughmythoughtswhereallthepeopleIknew,evenenemies,whichit’sharder to comprehend with empathy, accordingtothewordsof theDalai Lama, whichMarinareinterpretedinherartistic manifesto by saying that “the artist must learntoforgive”.What I conveyed rst tomyself is testi ed to by the fact that she thankedme in the end. Still,MarinaandUlay’smostshockingworkformewas‘Lovers’,whichthey performedbywalkingtowardsoneanotheralongtheGreatWallofChina.“The idea was to get married when we encountered, but we waited seven years for the permits from the then Chinese authorities,duringwhichtimeour love turnedcold,”saidMarina, thougheven nowshewasnotindi erent.Theirmeeting, thus,meantbreakingup,whichthis passionateartiststruggledtoovercome. Afterthe nalecstaticapplause,we allslowlyparted,mostlywithcomments about howthe“lecturewas fantastic”. I wassilentbecauseIexperienceartfrom the stomach, as Marina recommends, and the stomach requires longer todigest that whichhas been seen and experienced.Andonlythendoesarational conclusion emerge, without the in uence of her irresistible charisma.
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