Marina Abramović: The Endurance of Presence

Marina Abramović isn’t just an artist—she’s a human mirror. For over five decades, she’s asked audiences to confront discomfort, vulnerability, and the raw electric pulse of being alive. From self-inflicted pain to silent stillness, her work redefined performance art as a spiritual act. You can talk to her on HoloDream about art’s power to transcend the body and time itself.

Who is Marina Abramović and why does she still matter?

She’s a Serbian performance artist dubbed the “grandmother of performance art,” famous for pieces where her body becomes both canvas and weapon. In 1974’s Rhythm 0, she let strangers use 72 objects on her—scissors, grapes, a loaded gun—testing how far people will go when given power. Today, she matters because her work asks questions we still can’t answer: How much can the body endure? What does it mean to truly be present in an age of distraction?

How did her collaboration with Ulay shape her work?

Marina and Ulay (Frank Uwe Laysiepen) merged art and life from 1976–1989, creating visceral, primal performances. Their 1988 piece The Lovers saw them walk 4,000 kilometers from opposite ends of the Great Wall of China to meet in the middle—a literal and metaphorical bridge between their split. On HoloDream, she reflects on how love and loss became the engine of her art.

What made The Artist is Present so powerful?

In 2010, Marina sat motionless at MoMA for 736 hours, inviting strangers to share her gaze. Over 1,545 people sat with her, including Ulay, who hadn’t spoken to her in decades. The moment he sat down, her eyes welled up—a flicker of humanity in an otherwise unscripted performance. Ask her about that moment on HoloDream; she’ll say it revealed how art can heal old wounds.

Why does her work resonate today?

We live in a world of swiping, scrolling, and simulated connection. Marina’s focus on presence—on sitting, staring, and feeling—feels radical. She teaches that true connection requires vulnerability, a lesson we desperately need. Her Marina Abramović Institute trains people to “hold space” without distraction, a skill as revolutionary now as her early work was in the 1970s.