Baring Mind and Body for Marina Abramovic's Voyeurs

Wing-Sproul, performing Nude With Skeleton. (Photo: Edward Keating/Contact Press for New York Magazine)ArtTracker| Take a moment and read Deborah Wing-Sproul’s New York Magazine narrative about her roles in Marina Abramovic’s MOMA installation.  Much has been written about the audience’s responses and occasional overt actions towards the performers.

Ms. Wing-Sproul tells a calmer tale, but quickly weaves us close to her own consciousness, sharing without TMI, precious details of her experiences as a performance actress for Abramovic. 

The first piece I performed at MoMA was Nude With Skeleton, in which the skeleton lies on top of me, moving as I breathe. I don’t usually perform nude, and I am a fairly modest person, but once I enter the work, it stops being about that. What I remember distinctly was the weight of the skull on my head. I was in agony. But I was also really struck by people’s involvement. One day, a woman, probably 65 or 70, stood as close to me as she legally could and said, “You’re so brave. You’re not vain, like me.” And she just talked, confessing her criticisms of herself. That piece tends to bring out a lot in people. Even children: I once had a mother stop with her 3-year-old and say, “Just watch the breath.” via New York Magazine