In the presence of the artist

The essence of the performance, which took place at the New York Museum of Modern Art, was that everyone could sit in front of Marina Abramovic and silently look into her eyes for several minutes. To the artist’s surprise, there were a lot of such people, and this proves people’s need for simple contact and silent communication. Some visitors tried to tell Abramovic something with the help of their gaze, to conduct a dialogue, while others simply looked at her without any emotions. The culmination of the performance was the appearance of Ulay, an ex-lover of Marina, who unexpectedly attended the event. When the artists exchanged glances, a mute dialogue took place, during which the author of the performance experienced powerful emotions and even burst into tears.