Guntana's Research on Marina Abramovic and Junya Ishigami

MARINA ABRAMOVIC

"THE ARTIST IS PRESENT"

          Marina Abramovic, the artist who uses her own body as a part of her installation, sit in the middle of the exhibition hall of MoMA 7 hours a day, letting people to have a seat in front of her, staring in to her eyes.

Analytical Diagram of THE ARTIST IS PRESENT

          The exhibition area was opened without using any partitions or walls. The audiences were allowed to appreciate this installation from any direction. In the same time, one by one was invited to grab the only seat in front of her. 

          While everybody around was talking, at the centre of the hall, staring into her eyes, silence was creating the space. Many of them couldn't stand the heat. They started to cry...

How is it erotic?

The person who sit in front of her was, somehow, connected to Marina. He or she started to feel something after looking in her eyes. They could feel happy or sad. Whether he or she did cry or laugh, unconsciously, he or she became a part of the art, having the other audiences investigate the expression.

"THE HOUSE WITH THE OCEAN VIEW"

Marina lived in the museum for 12 days without eating anything. She let people come to watch her spend her time in 3 tiny rooms. The ladders were made of knives. There was no escape.

Analytical Diagram of THE HOUSE WITH THE VIEW OF THE OCEAN

Again, Marina decided not to use any partitions to separate the audience from her installation. By living there 12 days, she saw a lot of people come to see her, 5 minutes for the first time. Then come again in the next day for an hour. And they end up coming to see her every single day, spending time with her. She realized, that they did not only come to see her, but to let her see them...

How is it erotic?

Marina realized by this event that people came to her, because they wanted her to look at them in the way they looked at her. She could feel sorrow from their eyes that made herself cry so many times. Again, unconsciously, the people became one of the parts of her art that did not only allow the audience to look at, but also her self, as an audience, to look at them.

JUNYA ISHIGAMI

"TABLE"

A big table, standing in the center of the room, would go so well with the strong concrete wall behind. The small plants and small objects on the table created a nice space. But then the 3 mm thick top surface started to move like water...

Analytical Diagram of TABLE

The table was made of aluminum. In the normal condition, the table will be rolled. But when it is needed to be set up, it will be unrolled and put many small objects on its surface. By the weight of the objects and 700 kg of the top surface pushing it own self down, it will be able to stand still.

How is it erotic?

The people in the space would walk around the table carelessly, until they noticed that the thin surface of the table started to move. It was actually moved because the quakes on the floor that were created by the passing people. This movement can catch people attentions and bring them to come to check the table.

"BALLOON"

This floating rectangular shaped object was as big as a 5-stories building. It weighed not less than 1 ton. But then a little girl came and lifted it with her tiny hand...

Analytical Diagram of BALLOON

The balloon was actually constructed with aluminum trusses and panels. Normally it should has weighed around 1 ton. But Junya decided to put Helium inside the balloon to make it float.

Its reflective material reflects views from the outside into the building. As it was floating around, the views that were projected on the surface changed. This created new spaces every second.

How is it erotic?

Junya always uses simple objects to create surprising conditions. He put the balloon in the biggest area of the exhibition hall and invited people to experience the art work by putting no walls around. The erotic moment would be when you unexpectedly see a person lift an object that is bigger than your house with their own hand. The surprising moment could arouse you to be curious what is it actually inside that huge balloon.