Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present

Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present is a magnificent documentary feature that brings focus onto the journey, passion, and astounding talent of contractual performance artist Marina Abramovic. Released in 2012, the film stars Marina Abramovic herself, offering a deeply personal, intimate viewpoint into her life and work. Other significant personas in the film include artist Ulay, Abramovic's former long-term partner and collaborator, and Klaus Biesenbach, the Chief Curator at Large at The Museum of Modern Art and the Director of MoMA PS1.

The film is directed by Matthew Akers, who has created a masterful piece that unfolds around Abramovic's wildly popular retrospective at The Museum of Modern Art in New York in 2010 - an exhibition that rapidly solidified Abramovic's place as a heavyweight in the performance art world. The museum showcased a range of her works spanning four decades and culminated in the extraordinary original piece, "The Artist is Present," from which the movie takes its title.

At heart, the film is a tribute to Abramovic's legacy. It decisively portrays the fierceness, intensity, and emotional depth Abramovic infuses into her works. However, it goes beyond the realm of the art, delving into the life of the artist and offering up a discerning study of what motivates Abramovic's art. It isn't just about performances but the woman behind them. Its Spartan chronicle of Abramovic's commitment, her imagination, her pains, and her triumphs makes the film as heartrending and thought-provoking as any of her works.

One of the remarkable aspects of Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present is how it introduces the audience to performance art - a genre that tends to mystify audiences, often being misunderstood or wholly overlooked. For seasoned connoisseurs of Abramovic's work and newcomers alike, the film enlightens the viewer about the intense physical and emotional demands of performance art, shedding light on how Abramovic often uses her own body as a canvas to explore her innermost fears, desires, and questions about life, identity, and the human condition.

Whilst the movie does an awe-inspiring job of capturing Abramovic's artistic expressions, it also features memorable moments from her personal life, including soul-baring interviews with the artist herself, archival footage of past performances, and a portrayal of her iconic relationship and collaboration with fellow artist Ulay. Their seismic impact on each other's lives and the art world at large are strikingly documented. The engaging interviews with Klaus Biesenbach add another layer of understanding Abramovic's remarkable journey, highlighting Abramovic's vital role in promoting performance art as a recognized and celebrated genre in the contemporary art world.

Indeed, Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present is a portrayal not only of Abramovic's provocative, innovative art but also of her resilience and passion for her craft despite the criticism and misunderstanding she faced. It exposes Abramovic's ironclad commitment to her art that verges on an undying obsession. She presents her vulnerability, perseverance, and dedication in the face of physical and emotional hurdles, which render her not just a pioneering artist, but also an enormously captivating character.

Anchoring the narrative is the chronicle of Abramovic's groundbreaking MoMA exhibition. This exhibit marked a high point of Abramovic’s career, challenging the audience's perception of art and performance. It allowed Abramovic an up-close and profoundly personal interaction with the audience, something that was beautifully captured by the film.

To sum up, Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present offers a bold and intimate look into not only the works but also the life of one of the most boundary-pushing artists of our time. It is a riveting tale of tenacity, vulnerability, discipline, and art that is guaranteed to leave its audience intrigued and moved, regardless of whether or not they are familiar with Abramovic or performance art. It is more than just a biography or art documentary - it is an exploration of what it means to consume oneself in the pursuit of art.