You can't choreograph death, but you can choreograph your funeral. Marina Abramovic More Quotes by Marina Abramovic More Quotes From Marina Abramovic I realise the power of art that does not hang on the walls of galleries. Marina Abramovic wall doe art My mother and father had a terrible marriage. They celebrated their wedding anniversary one year with their friends. Why did they celebrate? Maybe because they had lasted so many years without killing each other. Marina Abramovic wedding-anniversary mother father Talking about performance is such a strange thing because it's so immaterial. We are talking about soft matter. We are talking about something that is invisible. You can't see it. You can't touch it. You just can feel it. Marina Abramovic strange matter talking From the moment you are born, you could die. I think as an artist it is important to meditate on that. Marina Abramovic important artist thinking In every culture, [there are those] shamans or medicine men who endured incredible physical pain, because it's a door opening to the subconsciousness. And the way we can actually control the pain -- it's how to control everything. This is the key. Marina Abramovic pain doors men Woody Allen has a wonderful line: 'Today I'm a star. What will I be tomorrow? A black hole?' That's very important to know - that you have the moment, then you lose the moment. You have to see your chances, you have to take them, and you also have to see when you don't have chances to take. Marina Abramovic black stars important I had a very difficult relationship with my mother. She used to wake me up in the middle of the night if I wasn't sleeping straight and was messing up the sheets. Now when I stay in hotels I sleep so straight they don't even think I've used the bed. Marina Abramovic mother sleep thinking I made a tape recording of a bridge collapsing and I wanted to play it suddenly and very loudly when people were walking over a big bridge in Belgrade. The council forbid it. Their imagination is tiny; mine is big. I want always to shake everything up. Marina Abramovic bridges play people There are two kinds of loss of hope, one is the feeling when your pulse slows down and you are going to die, and there's nothing else left. The other loss of hope is when you're living in a country which becomes insecure, and you don't know what the future is. That's existential. Marina Abramovic insecure loss country I am pure performance, and Robert Wilson is pure theater. Marina Abramovic wilson theater performances What you get is the opening of your mind. I'm not preaching any new religion; I'm ritualizing everyday activities. You drink the water. You count the rice. You sit in Crystal Cave. You lie in Levitation Chamber. You push yourself to a new level. Marina Abramovic everyday water lying For me, the most difficult piece is the one I'm about to make. Marina Abramovic difficult pieces Television is completely another medium. For me, Lady Gaga and HBO are bringing us to mass culture. Marina Abramovic mass-culture hbo television In real life, you just work for the ordinary self, but in the front of audience you become the superself. That's a completely different thing. Marina Abramovic real self ordinary I always sent my mother all these huge books I made. When my mother died, I was cleaning her cupboard, and these big books were only 20 pages long. She edited out, maybe burned, every single photograph where I'm naked. Marina Abramovic mother long book Because of technology, we don't develop telepathy. We don't use telepathy, but use, you know, the mobile phones. Why? Marina Abramovic phones technology use You know, everyone is always talking about plastic surgery, or the technology, what to do. I really think it's important to help yourself with the technology if you want to feel better, but I am absolutely against any kind of monstrous cuts of the body, lifting that is beyond recognition, this kind of stuff. Marina Abramovic cutting technology feel-better I am very clear that I am not a feminist. It puts you into a category and I don't like that. Marina Abramovic categories clear feminist All my inspiration comes from life. That's how it never stops, in a way. Marina Abramovic inspiration way I think the role of artists in the past was very different. Artists had less responsibility in many ways. Marina Abramovic artist responsibility past
