Marina Abramović

Performance artist
In her performances she’s been cut, burned, and nearly shot — but Marina Abramović's boldest work yet is a gargantuan institute dedicated to transformation through art.

Why you should listen

Marina Abramović burst onto the '70s art scene with cathartic performances that tested the limits of spectator participation and personal safety. The Artist Is Present, a Museum of Modern Art performance in which thousands of viewers queued for hours to face Abramović across a table, moved many to tears, and launched Abramović into mainstream celebrity.

Her latest work-in-progress is the MAI (Marina Abramović Institute), a sprawling upstate New York complex devoted to the preservation of durational performance pieces, arts education and the pursuit of heightened consciousness through Abramović’s artistic practices.

What others say

“The body is her subject, time is her medium.” — The New Yorker, March 8, 2010

Marina Abramović’s TED talk

More news and ideas from Marina Abramović

Live from TED

Opening Gambit: A recap of the talks in Session 1 at TED2015

March 17, 2015

“It takes courage to uncover the truth,” says Chris Anderson, opening the first session of TED2015, Opening Gambit. “The speakers this week — their courage and brilliance are going to rewire your brain. This dare thing is not just for them — it’s for all of us.” These six speakers set the tone for Truth & Dare: The […]

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