When Marina Abramovic Dies - 9780262526814

When Marina Abramovic Dies examines the extraordinary life anddeath-defying work of one of the most pioneering artists of her generation--and one who is still atthe forefront of contemporary art today. This intimate, critical biography chronicles Abramovic'sformative and until now undocumented years in Yugoslavia, and tells the story of her partnershipwith the German artist Ulay--one of the twentieth century's great examples of the fusion of artisticand private life.

In one of many long-durational performances in the renewed solocareer that followed, Abramovic famously lived in a New York gallery for twelve days without eatingor speaking, nourished only by prolonged eye contact with audience members. It was here, in 2002,that author James Westcott first encountered her, beginning an exceptionally close relation betweenbiographer and subject. When Marina Abramovic Dies draws on Westcott's personalobservations of Abramovic, his unprecedented access to her archive, and hundreds of hours ofinterviews he conducted with the artist and the people closest to her. The result is a unique andvivid portrait of the charismatic self-proclaimed "grandmother of performanceart."